Since the MB's inception in the late 1940s, the Hashemites and the MB have had a strong working relationship. The monarchy and the MB aligned in the 1950s and 1960s to contain Nasserite and leftist forces, and the MB remained loyal to the monarchy in the 1970-1971 civil war between national armed forces and Palestine Liberation Organization militiamen. Through much of the 1970s and 1980s, political parties were banned in Jordan, but the MB was allowed to operate as a registered charity. The turning point was the 1989 parliamentary elections (the first one held after 1967 and as part of a major political liberalization initiative), in which members of the MB won 22 of the 80 seats in the lower house, becoming the single largest bloc in parliament.