List of banned political parties
This article provides a list of political parties that were or are currently banned by the countries in which they were or are based. Party bans can be democratic or authoritarian. "Altering the character of the nation" has been referenced as an argument for banning parties. Ethnic party bans are prevalent in parts of Africa.
Asia
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 members joined the People's Power Party after the TRT was banned and then the Pheu Thai Party after the PPP was banned. Thai Nation Party members joined the Chart Thai Pattana Party after their party was banned.Legend: TRT lineage FFP lineage
Sri Lanka
All parties listed below are no longer banned.Nepal
King Tribhuvan of Nepal banned the Communist Party of Nepal. The Nepali Congress, under the leadership of BP Koirala, won the 1959 election, but King Mahendra of Nepal dissolved the House of Representatives on 15 December 1960. The Rastriya Panchayat was formed and all political parties were banned.A referendum was held in 1980 to determine whether to maintain the Panchayat system or institute a multi-party system. The Panchayat system was maintained with 54% of the vote. On 6 April 1990, King Birendra of Nepal 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.
Japan
Douglas MacArthur considered banning the Japanese Communist Party 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.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
Iran
| Name | Native name | Ideology | Year banned | Reference |
| Islamic Iran Participation Front | 2010 | |||
| Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Organization | 2010 |
Burkina Faso
The military government that took over Burkina Faso in September 2022 banned all political parties on 29 January 2026.Egypt
All political parties were banned in 1953, following the 1952 Egyptian revolution, but were allowed to exist in 1976.Sudan
Jaafar Nimeiry 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 overthrew the government.| Name | Native name | Ideology | Year banned | Reference |
| Sudanese Ba'ath Party | Ba'athism | |||
| Sudanese Communist Party | Communism | 1989 | ||
| National Congress Party | المؤتمر الوطني | Islamism | 2019 |
Americas
Argentina
In 1943, Pedro Pablo Ramírez banned all political parties after overthrowing the government.Brazil
The Brazilian Communist Party was suppressed during the Vargas Era, but were later able to participate in the 1945 and 1947 elections. However, the party was banned by Eurico Gaspar Dutra 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 in 1938.
| Name | Native name | Ideology | Year banned | Reference |
| Brazilian Communist Party | Communism | 1947 | ||
| Brazilian Integralist Action | Brazilian Integralism | 1938 |
United States
Multiple states, including California, directly banned the Communist Party USA 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. In 1954, the US government passed the Communist Control Act of 1954 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.| Name | Native name | Ideology | Year banned | Reference |
| Communist Party USA | Communism | 1954 |
Europe
Georgia
| Name | Native Name | Ideology | Year Banned | Notes | Reference |
| Communist Party of Georgia | საქართველოს კომუნისტური პარტია | Communism Marxism-Leninism | 1991 | ||
| Centrists | ცენტრისტები | Russophilia | 2016 | Banned from election | |
| Conservative Movement | კონსერვატიული მოძრაობა | National conservatism Right-wing populism Russophilia | 2024 | Registration revoked | |
| Georgian Idea | ქართული იდეა | National conservatism Monarchism Russophilia | 2024 | Registration revoked |
Germany
All political parties were banned in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia after the annexation of Czechoslovakia. During World War II political parties in Luxembourg and Norway were banned following their occupations by Germany.Greece
Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas 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 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.
Bulgaria
All political parties were banned in Bulgaria in 1934.Romania
Prime Minister Patriarch Miron of Romania banned all political parties in 1939.Spain
Batasuna was the first political party banned following the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship.| Name | Native name | Ideology | Year banned | Reference |
| Batasuna | Basque nationalism | 2003 |