The first election under the 2002 Constitution was the
2002 Bahraini general election, which was boycotted by the
Shia Islamist
Al Wefaq, the country's largest political party, as well as the left-wing
National Democratic Action Society, the
Nationalist Democratic Rally Society, and the radical Shia Islamist
Islamic Action Society. They claimed that the 2002 Constitution gave too much power to the unelected
Consultative Council, and demanded a reform of the constitution. Although all candidates ran as independents due to the ban on political parties, six political societies gained representation in the Council of Representatives. The Islamic Forum and
al Asalah both won six seats, Rabita al-Islami won three seats, the Shura Society and the National Democratic Assembly both won two seats, whilst
al Meethaq won one. At the
2006 Bahraini general election, the four parties that boycotted the 2002 elections fielded candidates. To meet the challenge posed by Al Wefaq, the two main Sunni Islamist parties, the
salafist Asalah and the
Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated
Al-Menbar Islamic Society, agreed to form a coalition to maximise their votes. At the election, Al Wefaq won 17 seats, Al-Menbar won 7 seats and Asalah won 5 seats. 11 seats were won by independents. At the
2010 Bahraini general election, Al Wefaq won 18 seats, Al-Menbar won 2 seats and Asalah won 3 seats. 17 seats were won by independents. Two months later, the
Arab Spring protests that started in Tunisia, spread to Bahrain in February 2011 with the start of the
Pearl uprising. In a brutal crackdown, backed by 1,500 troops from
Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates, as part of the
Peninsula Shield Force, the government cleared the main protest site at the
Pearl Roundabout. All 18 members of Al-Wefaq resigned from the Council in protest at governmental actions during the uprising and the party was temporarily banned. The vacant seats were won by independents in the
subsequent by-elections. At the
2014 Bahraini general election, Al Wefaq again boycotted the election. Independents won 37 seats with Sunni Islamists losing two of their five seats. The number of Shiite MPs fell to 14 as a result of the Al-Wefaq boycott. At the
2018 Bahraini general election, Al-Wefaq and secular
Waad were barred from fielding candidates, prompting renewed calls for a boycott. A court had banned Al Wefaq in 2016 for "harbouring terrorism", inciting violence and encouraging demonstrations which threatened to spark sectarian strife. According to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television and international print media report, Bahrain's highest court dissolved Al Wefaq and confiscated the group's funds in July 2016. Waad was banned on terrorism charges in June 2017. At the election, independents won 35 seats, Al Asalah won 3 seats and
Al -Minbar, (effectively the successor to the
National Liberation Front – Bahrain) won 2 seats. ==Role in government==