[1] The relative openness of political debate permitted during the election campaign for the twenty-two contested Constituent Assembly seats encouraged individuals dissatisfied with the lack of democratic rights to demand more civil liberties.
[1] A group of mostly university-educated professionals, led by Abd al Aziz Shamlan, unsuccessfully petitioned the emir to rescind the law's harshest provisions, especially those pertaining to arrest and detention.
[1] They presented a petition to the emir requesting support for extending voting rights to female citizens, but they failed to receive a positive response.
[1] The assembly was not empowered to initiate or enact legislation, but it was authorized to give advice and consent to laws proposed by the Council of Ministers.
[1] One year later, in August 1976, Shaykh Isa ibn Salman announced that the National Assembly would remain dissolved indefinitely.