National Democratic Action Society
| National Democratic Action Society - Wa'ad جمعية العمل الوطني الديمقراطي - وعد |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| General Secretary | Ibrahim Sharif |
| Founder | Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi[1] |
| Slogan | الوطن أمانة..وبسنا فساد |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Preceded by | Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain |
| Headquarters | Umm Al Hassam, Bahrain |
| Student wing | The Change Student Bloc |
| Youth wing | The Youth Bureau - Waad |
| Ideology | Arab nationalism[2] Socialism[3] |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Colors | Orange |
| Website | |
| aldemokrati.org | |
| Politics of Bahrain Political parties Elections |
|
The National Democratic Action Society - Wa'ad (Arabic: جمعية العمل الوطني الديمقراطي - وعد) is Bahrain's largest leftist political party.
History and profile
It emerged from the Popular Front, a "radical" clandestine opposition movement of socialist and Arab nationalist orientation. Under the reform process initiated by Bahrain's King Hamad, the leaders of the Popular Front returned from exile to participate in the political process through the National Democratic Action.
The party's origins lie in the split within the Left in the Arab world in the 1960s, between a pro-Moscow camp and a pro-China camp, with the NDA's leaders backing Beijing. The party is the first licensed political group in any of the Arab States of The Gulf.
Historically, the Left in Bahrain had been very strong, partly as a result of the creation of a local working class through the Kingdom's industrialisation with the discovery of oil in the 1930s; however the waning of Arab nationalism, the collapse of communism as an ideology and the rise of the Islamist Right have marginalised the NDA and robbed it of much of its traditional support. The party was established by returning exiles in 2002.[4]
The current leader of the party is Ibrahim Sharif Al-Sayed, who took over in 2005 from Abdul-Rahman Al Nuaimi. In 2005 the party renamed itself Wa'ad (Arabic: وعد), which translates to "Promise". Other prominent members include: Abdul-Nabi Alekri, Ebrahim KamalAldeen, Sami Seyadi, Ali Salih and Munira Fakhro
The party suffered a very disappointing result in 2002's municipal elections when none of its candidates were elected in any constituency. Despite this, the NDA's leaders are widely respected and retain a great deal of influence in Bahraini society. The party boycotted 2002's parliamentary elections, but took part in the Bahraini parliamentary election of 2006; among its candidates was its vice president and former Harvard academic, Munira Fakhro, who contested an Isa Town constituency against Salah Ali of Al-Menbar Islamic Society.
Organizational Structure
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
See also
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain
- National Liberation Front – Bahrain
- Progressive Democratic Tribune
- Ibrahim Sharif
- Munira Fakhro
- Bahrain election 2006 women candidates
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "A field guide to Bahraini political parties". The Daily Telegraph. Wikileaks. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- National Democratic Action (Arabic)
- List of Central Committee members, 2006 (from Gulf Daily News)
- 'Few political societies try to bridge gap between Sunnis and Shiites', Gulf News, 4 October 2006
| Islamist Parties | |
|---|---|
| Secular Parties |
|
| Opposition Parties |
|
- Articles containing Arabic-language text
- Articles using small message boxes
- Articles with Arabic-language external links
- 2002 establishments in Bahrain
- Arab nationalism in Bahrain
- Political parties established in 2002
- Bahraini uprising of 2011
- Political parties in Bahrain
- Arab nationalist political parties
- Arab socialist political parties
- Socialist parties in Bahrain
