Pearl Roundabout
The lower house of parliament has the authority to pass legislation proposed by the sovereign or the governing cabinet, as well as monitoring authority. The upper, unelected Consultative Council has the power to block legislation from the lower house. The minority Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty has ruled the majority Shia country since 1783. The Bahraini uprising started in early 2011, with massive protests, occupation of the Pearl Roundabout, arrests and other responses by police, destruction of the Pearl Roundabout, and entry of the Peninsula Shield Force to Bahrain. MPs from Al Wefaq, the largest party in parliament, resigned their seats in protest against the government's responses.