This article provides a list of

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

that were or are currently banned by the countries in which they were or are based. Party bans can be democratic or

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

. "Altering the character of the nation" has been referenced as an argument for banning parties. Ethnic party bans are prevalent in parts of Africa.

By country

Argentina

In 1943, Pedro Pablo Ramírez banned all political parties after overthrowing the government.

Algeria

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Brazil

The Brazilian Communist Party was suppressed during the Vargas Era, but were later able to participate in the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and 1947 elections. However, the party was banned by

Eurico Gaspar Dutra Eurico Gaspar Dutra (; 18 May 1883 – 11 June 1974) was a Brazilian military leader and politician who served as the 16th president of Brazil from 1946 to 1951. He was the first president of the Fourth Brazilian Republic, which followed the V ...

in May 1947, and all of its elected officials, barring those elected with support from other parties, were removed from office. Brazilian Integralist Action was banned after the

Integralist Uprising The Integralist Uprising () was a failed coup d'état, coup by the Brazilian Integralist Action (AIB) against the government of president Getúlio Vargas during the Estado Novo (Brazil), Estado Novo in Brazil. The AIB was created due to the radi ...

in 1938.

Bulgaria

All political parties were banned in Bulgaria in 1934.

China

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Chinese New Left The Chinese New Left is a term used in the China, People's Republic of China to describe a diverse range of left-wing political philosophies that emerged in the 1990s that are critical of the Chinese economic reform, economic reforms institute ...

, Chongqing model,

Maoism Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

, 2013 ,

Egypt

All political parties were banned in 1953, following the

1952 Egyptian revolution The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

, but were allowed to exist in 1976.

Eswatini

Georgia

Germany

All political parties were banned in the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

after the

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

political parties in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

were banned following their occupations by Germany.

Greece

Prime Minister

Ioannis Metaxas Ioannis Metaxas (; 12 April 187129 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as th ...

banned all political parties in 1936. Golden Dawn was ruled as a criminal organization in 2020. It was the first party banned in Greece since the end of the

Greek junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a Right-wing politics, right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing 1967 Greek coup d'état, overthrew the caretaker gove ...

in 1974. A law passed in 2023 prohibiting parties led by people convicted of crimes from running in elections resulted in Golden Dawn and National Party – Greeks being prohibited from the 2023 Greek legislative election.

Hong Kong

Iran

Iraq

Japan

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

considered banning the

Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...

(JCP) on 3 May 1950. Twenty-four members of the JCP's central committee were removed from office in June and its newspaper, '' Shimbun Akahata'', was banned on June 27.

Moldova

Nepal

King

Tribhuvan of Nepal Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev (), (30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955) was King of Nepal. Born in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, he ascended to the throne at the age of five, upon the death of his father, Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah, and was cr ...

banned the

Communist Party of Nepal The Communist Party of Nepal (), abbreviated CPN, was a communist party in Nepal from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic Rana regime, feudalism, and imperialism. The founding general secretary ...

. The

Nepali Congress The Nepali Congress ( ; Abbreviation, abbr. NC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Nepal, political party in Nepal and the largest party in the country ...

, under the leadership of BP Koirala, won the 1959 election, but King

Mahendra of Nepal Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until his death in 1972. He led the 1960 Nepal coup d'état, 1960 coup d'état, in which he dismissed the government, jailed other political ...

dissolved the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

on 15 December 1960. The Rastriya Panchayat was formed and all political parties were banned. A

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

was held in 1980 to determine whether to maintain the Panchayat system or institute a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...

. The Panchayat system was maintained with 54% of the vote. On 6 April 1990, King

Birendra of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (; 29 December 1945 – 1 June 2001) was King of Nepal from 1972 until Nepalese royal massacre, his assassination in 2001. Early life and education Birendra was born at the Narayanhiti Palace, Narayanhiti Royal ...

ended the ban on political parties in response to the 1990 Nepalese revolution and the 1991 election was the first multi-party election since 1960.

Peru

Philippines

Russia

Romania

Prime Minister Patriarch Miron of Romania banned all political parties in 1939.

Spain

Batasuna Batasuna (; ) was a Basque nationalist political party. Based mainly in Spain, it was banned in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. The party is included in the "European Union list of ...

was the first political party banned following the end of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

's dictatorship.

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Jaafar Nimeiry Gaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry (otherwise spelled in English as Gaafar Nimeiry, Jaafar Nimeiry, or Ja'far Muhammad Numayri; ; 1 January 193030 May 2009) was a Sudanese military officer and politician who served as the fourth head of state of Sudan ...

overthrew the government in 1969, and banned all political parties. He was overthrown by a coup d'état in 1985, and a new government was formed by Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab. He legalized political parties, but they were banned again after

Omar al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...

overthrew the government.

Thailand

All political parties, except for the Democrat Party, were dissolved following the 2006 coup d'état and their members banned from seeking office for five years.

Thai Rak Thai Party The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; , , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a list of political parties in Thailand, Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister of Thailand, Prime Mini ...

members joined the People's Power Party after the TRT was banned and then the

Pheu Thai Party The Pheu Thai Party (PT or PTP; , ) is a major conservative populist list of political parties in Thailand, political party in Thailand. It is the third incarnation of the Thai Rak Thai Party, a political party founded by former Prime Minister ...

after the PPP was banned.

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party (, ) was a Conservatism, conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party (Thailand), People's Power P ...

members joined the Chart Thai Pattana Party after their party was banned. Legend: TRT lineage FFP lineage

Turkey

All political parties were dissolved following the 1980 coup d'état and other parties were banned after of the many coup d'états in the 20th century. Legend: CHP lineage DP lineage MP lineage MNP lineage HEP tradition

Ukraine

United States

Multiple states, including California, directly banned the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

while other states indirectly did so by banning parties that supported overthrowing the government using violence. Communist candidates were removed from the ballot in Arizona and Georgia in 1940, as the secretaries of state ruled that they could not honestly take the oath to uphold the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. In 1954, the US government passed the

Communist Control Act of 1954 The Communist Control Act of 1954 (68 Stat. 775, 50 U.S.C. §§ 841–844) is an American law signed by President Dwight Eisenhower on August 24, 1954, that outlaws the Communist Party of the United States and criminalizes membership ...

which outlawed the party and made membership in the party a criminal offense. Most of those provisions, however, have either been repealed or ruled unconstitutional.