:2018 Bahraini general election

{{Infobox legislative election

| country = Bahrain

| previous_election = 2014

| next_election = 2022

| seats_for_election = All 40 seats in the Council of Representatives

| election_date = 24 November 2018 (first round)
{{nowrap|1 December 2018 (second round)}}

}}{{Politics of Bahrain}}

General elections were held in Bahrain in November and December 2018 to elect the 40 members of the Council of Representatives. The first round of voting was on Saturday, 24 November,{{Cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bahrain-election/bahrain-to-hold-parliamentary-elections-on-nov-24-state-news-agency-idUKKCN1LQ21X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910181836/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bahrain-election/bahrain-to-hold-parliamentary-elections-on-nov-24-state-news-agency-idUKKCN1LQ21X|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 10, 2018|title=Bahrain to hold parliamentary elections on Nov. 24 - state news agency|date=10 September 2018|work=Reuters|access-date=5 October 2018|language=en-GB}} with a second round in 31 constituencies on Saturday, 1 December.[https://www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/bahrain-announces-election-results-as-palace-prepares-for-visit-from-saudi-crown-prince-1.795639 Bahrain announces election results as palace prepares for visit from Saudi crown prince] The National, 25 November 2018 A municipal poll coincided with the parliamentary vote.

The elections were considered to be a sham,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/11/22/after-khashoggis-murder-its-time-for-the-world-to-stop-ignoring-bahrains-abuses/|title=After Khashoggi's murder, it's time for the world to stop ignoring Bahrain's abuses|last1=Al-Wadaei|first=Sayed Ahmed|last2=Abdulla|first2=Husain|date=22 November 2018|work=The Washington Post}}[https://www.undispatch.com/podcast-what-elections-in-bahrain-can-teach-us-about-politics-in-the-middle-east/ What "Elections" in Bahrain Can Teach Us About Politics in the Middle East] UN Dispatch, 7 December 2018 as they followed a government crackdown on dissent that included prohibiting members of dissolved opposition groups from running.{{Cite news|url=https://www.adhrb.org/2018/05/bahrain-moves-to-ban-opposition-ahead-of-2018-elections/|title=Bahrain Moves to Ban Opposition Ahead of 2018 Elections|date=30 May 2018|work=Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain|access-date=5 October 2018|language=en-US}} Following the 2011 Bahraini protests, all 18 Al Wefaq members on the Council resigned,[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/201171681543397725.html Bahraini woman dies 'during protest'] Al Jazeera, 16 July 2011 and were barred from contesting the subsequent by-elections. Since 2011, authorities have imprisoned hundreds of dissidents, including Al Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman, and stripped many of Bahraini citizenship. Al Wefaq boycotted the 2014 Bahraini general election.

The two main opposition groups, the Shiite Al-Wefaq and secular Waad, were barred from fielding candidates in 2018, prompting renewed calls for a boycott. A court banned Al Wefaq in 2016 for "harbouring terrorism", inciting violence and encouraging demonstrations which threatened to spark sectarian strife.[https://www.france24.com/en/20181122-experts-cast-doubt-upcoming-bahrain-elections Experts cast doubt on upcoming Bahrain elections] On 17 July 2016, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television and international print media reported that Bahrain's highest court dissolved Al Wefaq and liquidated the group's funds.{{cite web|author= AP|url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/17/bahrain-al-wefaq-shia-opposition-group-sunni|title= Bahrain court orders Shia opposition group to be dissolved|publisher=The Guardian |date=17 July 2016|accessdate=18 July 2016}}