Bahrain
| Right To Vote | Universal |
| In 2002 Women were allowed to stand as candidates and vote for the first time (BBC). |
| Most votes to | Islamists |
| 60% of seats won by Islamists with overwhelming majorities in parliament and 76% in municipal (Pogar). |
| Candidate restrictions | Unknown |
| |
| Reserved places for minorities | Yes | | Women and religious minories have been appointed to the legislative consultative council (Pogar). |
| No. of parties | Political Parties Banned | | Formal poitical parties are illegal but the government allows political societies or groupings to operate and organise activings in the country (Freedom House). |
| Interference with vote | Yes | | Candidates are banned from standing (BBC). |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Limited | | The government arrests opposition activists critical of government policy and democracy advocates. It closed a leading independent human rights organization, and cracked down on public protests (Freedom House). |
Egypt
| Right To Vote | Universal | | Universal sufferage (BBC) for those over the age of 18 (Pogar). |
| Candidate restrictions | Severe | | No candidate is allowed to stand for a religious party. (Freedom House). |
| Reserved places for minorities | Yes | | The 10 presidentially appointed seats in the People's Assembly often go to minorities, women and small political groups (Pogar). |
| Change of Power | None | | Following the assassination of Sadat in 1981, Mubarak became president and declared a state of emergency (which he has since renewed every three years, most recently in February 2003) (Freedom House). |
| Interference with vote | Yes | | Previously the process deeply flawed and irregular (Freedom House) with accusations of intimidation (BBC) but the last elections were overseen by the judiciary and was considered the fairest election in recent history (Pogar). |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Yes | | Opposition papers are outspoken and from reports after the election it seems that the major problem is a lack of organised opposition rather than an inability to speak out (Yahoo) . |
Iran
| Type | Highly Restricted Democracy | | Unelected supreme leader with elected parliament beneath (BBC). The regression of political and civil liberties in Iran accelerated in 2004 as the hard-line clerical establishment seized control of parliament from reformers through sham elections and launched heavy-handed campaigns to combat "social corruption" and to silence dissent (Freedom House). |
| Turnout | 60% | | The election saw a turnout of almost 60% of eligible voters, seen internally as a strike back at the US allegations of voting restrictions (Wikipedia). |
| Reserved places for minorities | Unknown | | |
| No. of parties | 2 parties | | 2 - conservatives and reformists (BBC) |
| Change of Power | Chosen by clerics | | Supreme Leader chosen by Assembly of Experts (clerics) for an 8 year term. They always pick a conservative (Freedom House). |
| Interference with vote | Yes | | Candidates are barred from standing (BBC). |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Unknown | | |
Iraq
| Turnout | 59% | | 59% overall (Pogar) but in some areas turnout as low as 2%(BBC). |
| Most votes to | Shiates | | 48% to Shia candidates with Kurds coming in second (BBC). |
| Candidate restrictions | Unknown | | |
| Reserved places for minorities | Women | | 25% of places have to go to women |
| Law-making process | Unknown | | Constitution still being drafted (BBC News) |
| Interference with vote | Yes | | Violence contributes to difficult electoral process (BBC) |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Unknown | | |
Israel
| Most votes to | No Predisposition | | Its very difficult for one party to gain a majority and coalitions are usually formed. |
| Reserved places for minorities | None | | All citizens have the same status. There is no positive discrimination (Freedom House). |
| Change of Power | Democratic | | Israel is governed as most Western democracies are. Parliament, or the Knesset, has 120 members who are elected every four years through proportional representation. (BBC). |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Yes | | Democratic process is similar to western democracies (BBC) |
Jordan
| Type | Monarchy | | Hereditary monarchy with elected legislature (BBC). |
| Turnout | 27% | | As low as 27% in Amman, the capital, suggesting little engagement of the population (Freedom House) |
| Candidate restrictions | Yes | | The king appoints the members of the senate. (BBC). |
| Reserved places for minorities | Unknown | | |
| Law-making process | Partly democratic | | Democratically elected parliament proposes and approves law that is enacted by monarch. |
| Interference with vote | Yes | | Process is highly skewed towards royalists though the drawing up of constituency boundaries. |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Limited | | Jordan witnessed a limited expansion of civil liberties in 2004, owing mainly to an informal understanding between the government and opposition groups on the boundaries of acceptable public discourse. (Freedom House). |
Kuwait
| Right To Vote | Partly Universal | | National elections only males over the age of 21 but in municipal elections women can vote (Pogar). |
| Turnout | 50% | | 80% in national elections and 50% in muncipal elections (Pogar) . |
| Most votes to | Traditional | | Traditional parties took most votes in national elections and tribal candidates in municipal. (Pogar) |
| Candidate restrictions | Severe | | In national elections you must be male and over 30. (Pogar) In muncipal elections you must abide by Islamic religious law (BBC). |
| Reserved places for minorities | Women | | 2 women were appointed unelected municipal council seats in 2005. (Pogar). |
| No. of parties | None | | Banned but there are a few small political groupings (Freedom House) |
| Interference with vote | Unknown | | |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Unknown | | |
Lebanon
| Most votes to | Opposition party | In the most recent elections the opposition party took power with 44% of the vote. They were running on a platform of ended Syrian influence in the country.
(BBC: article1, article2) |
| Candidate restrictions | Severe | | The president must be a Christian Maronite and assembly candidates over 25 (Pogar). |
| Reserved places for minorities | Yes | | 50% of parliament is Muslim and 50% Christian with the top jobs split between the groups (BBC). |
| Change of Power | Democratic | Syria and sectarian militias exert a great influence on the democratic process (BBC) but the last general election saw un unprecedented change in government. (Pogar).
|
| Law-making process | Democratic | | A one-house law making body, the National Assembly, that makes law (Pogar) . |
| Interference with vote | Yes | | Syria and sectarian militias exert a great influence on the democratic process (BBC). |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Yes | | After the withdrawal of Syrian troops the opposition was free and actually won power. (Pogar). |
Oman
| Type | Monarchy | | Absolute Monarchy with elected consultative body (BBC). |
| Candidate restrictions | Yes | | Only a limited number of citizens selected by tribal leaders are allowed to participate in the first elections. |
| Reserved places for minorities | Unknown | | |
| Interference with vote | Unknown | | |
Palestine
| Turnout | 70% | | 70% in presidential, 84% in municipal (Pogar). |
| Candidate restrictions | Minor Limitations | | Candidates in the legislative elections must collect 500 signatures of support and give a US $1,000 deposit to the Ministry of Finance. (Pogar) |
| Reserved places for minorities | Yes | | Places have been reserved in the past for Christian and Samarite populations. (Pogar) |
| Law-making process | Limited Democracy | | Legislature is approved by an elected council and then passed to president of Palestinian authority for ratification (Pogar). |
| Interference with vote | Minor | | Difficulties for East Jerusalem residents to vote. (Pogar) |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Limited | | Exchanges between government and opposition are often violent. (BBC) |
Qatar
| Candidate restrictions | Unknown | | |
| Reserved places for minorities | Unknown | | |
| Change of Power | Appointed | | Emir appoints with consultation with Royal family and power stays within Al Thani family (Freedom House). |
| Law-making process | Largely undemocratic | | Partly elected advisory body can debate and pass legislation with executive consultation and ratification by the emir (Pogar) |
| Interference with vote | Unknown | | |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | Yes | | There were no campaigning restrictions (Pogar). |
Saudi Arabia
| Type | Monarchy | | Absolute Monarchy with partly elected munciple government (BBC). |
| Right To Vote | Men Only | | Men over the age of 21 not in the military (BBC). |
| Most votes to | Islamists | | Moderate Islamists took the majority of the seats (Pogar). |
| Reserved places for minorities | Unknown | | |
| Interference with vote | Unknown | | |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | No | | Opposition based outside the country (Freedom House) |
Syria
| Turnout | 37-63% | | 66% presidential elections, 63% legislative, 37% municipal (Pogar). |
| Candidate restrictions | Severe | | All candidates are vetted by ruling party (Freedom House) and can only stand as part of ruling party or as independents (Pogar). |
| Reserved places for minorities | Unknown | | |
| No. of parties | One | | Only the Baath party and its 6 coalition partners are allowed (Freedom House) |
| Change of Power | None | Although official elected, the Assad family has retained a monopoly on the position of president for a number of years (Pogar).
|
| Law-making process | Elected | | People's Assembly (Baath controlled) debates and passes law that can be sent back by president but not blocked completely if it has a lot of support (BBC) (Pogar) |
| Interference with vote | Yes | | Rules seem 'flexible' to allow Assad family to remain in power and with only one party there is no effective opposition. (Pogar) |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | No | | No opposition (Pogar) |
UAE
| Type | Monarchy | | Seven Emirs run this collection of federated states (BBC) |
| Candidate restrictions | n/a | | |
| Reserved places for minorities | n/a | | |
| Law-making process | Undemocratic | | A consultative body advises the council of Emirs on legislation. (Pogar) |
| Interference with vote | n/a | | |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | n/a | | |
Yemen
| Candidate restrictions | Yes | | Presidential candidates must receive 10% approval by the legistative body (Pogar). |
| Reserved places for minorities | Unknown | | |
| Change of Power | Not Democratic | In 1999, President Ali Abdullah Saleh won a 5-year term in the country's first nationwide direct presidential election, gaining 96.3%. His only opponent came from within the ruling party. In 2001 his term in office was extended to 7 years in a referendum.
In the 2003 parliamentary elections, the elections seemed competitive. However, voter registration was characterized by widespread fraud, and underage voting was a pervasive problem. (Freedom House).
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| Law-making process | Democratic | | In general the elected House of Representatives makes law. Exceptions include matters of national security where as the unelected consultative council also votes (Pogar). |
| Interference with vote | Alledged | | Opposition spoke of widespread fraud by the ruling party (Pogar). |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | n/a | | |
Sudan
| Turnout | 66% | | Claims of 66% turnout were denounced as inaccuarate and in 17 rebel held constituencies elections are boycotted (Freedom House). |
| Candidate restrictions | Yes | | Emergency law severely restricts freedom of assembly and association. Students are forbidden to participate in political activities, according to the Acts of Student Codes, introduced in 2002 after several university students in Khartoum were suspended for engaging in human rights activities, including organizing symposiums on women's rights and attending a conference on democracy. |
| Reserved places for minorities | Yes | | In the legislature of the 90 unelected seats, 35% is reserved for women, 26% to university graduates and 29% to trade unions (Pogar). |
| Change of Power | None | | Sudanese citizens cannot change their government democratically (Freedom House). |
| Law-making process | Limited | | There is a limited internal voting system (Pogar). |
| Interference with vote | n/a | | |
| Right of Opposition to Speak | No | | The opposition has refused to participate in elections (Pogar). At least 75 percent of Sudanese are Muslim, though most southern Sudanese adhere to traditional indigenous beliefs or Christianity. The overwhelming majority of those displaced or killed by war and famine in Sudan have been non-Muslims, and many have starved under a policy of withholding food pending conversion to Islam (Freedom House). |
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