The National Assembly Party ( Arabic : حزب التجمع الوطني ) or NAAS ( Arabic : ناس ; lit. ' people ' ) is an opposition party of Saudi Arabia with members mostly in exile.
6-503: Founded in September 2020 on Saudi National Day , it is the first organized political resistance founded during the rule of King Salman , during which, as of November 2024, political parties remained banned. NAAS is described as a pro- democracy group. The group maintains that the country should be governed with the idea of separation of powers , calling for creation of an elected parliament and an independent judiciary based on
12-534: A constitution approved by the people. According to the Middle East Eye , the group has not elaborated on its position on the fate of the current monarchy and the House of Saud in their proposed system. The NAAS spokesperson wrote an opinion on the publication titled "a vision for a democratic Saudi Arabia free from the house of Saud". The party criticizes Saudi Arabia's foreign policy towards countries in
18-604: The proclamation that renamed the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 through a royal decree by King Abdulaziz ibn Saud . It was founded in 1965 on its 33rd anniversary by King Faisal bin Abdulaziz in order to replace the Royal Seating Day and was made a public holiday by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in 2005. Saudi National Day is one of the three non-religious holidays observed in
24-648: The country, other being the Saudi Founding Day and Saudi Flag Day . King Abdulaziz was able to conquer the oases of Riyadh in 1902; and al-Hasa in 1913, and by 1925, he unified both Nejd and the Hejaz after defeating the forces of Sharif Hussein . On 23 September 1932, King Abdulaziz changed the name of his realm to his family name, the House of Saud . Saudi National Day is celebrated with folk dances, songs, and traditional festivities. Roads and buildings are decorated with Saudi flags, and people wear
30-399: The region, terming it as "aggressive". The idea of the opposition party was established through failed experiments or practices that preceded it (Islamist or Leftist) , whether they were calling for political participation or separatism. Yahya Assiri is the party's general-secretary and Madawi al-Rasheed serves as the spokesperson. In addition to the two, the party's inaugural statement
36-488: Was signed by Ahmed Almshikhs, Saeed al-Ghamdi, Abdullah al-Ouda (son of Salman al-Ouda ) and Omar Al-Zahrani on behalf of the founders. Omar Abdulaziz is also a member. Saudi National Day Saudi National Day ( Arabic : اليوم الوطني للمملكة العربية السعودية al-Yawm al-Waṭanī lil-Mamlaka al-ʿArabiyya as-Saʿūdiyya ) is a public holiday in Saudi Arabia celebrated annually on 23 September to commemorate
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