The Parliamentary Puzzle: Unraveling Afghanistan's Political Landscape

Afghanistan did have a parliament, known as the National Assembly, which was the legislature of Afghanistan from 1931 until 2021. It was a bicameral body, made up of two chambers: the House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga) and the House of the People (Wolesi Jirga). The House of the People was the chamber that bore the greater burden of lawmaking in the country, with the power to make and ratify laws and approve the actions of the president. The National Assembly was dissolved when the Taliban regained control of the country in August 2021.

The National Assembly of Afghanistan, also known as the Afghan Parliament, was dissolved when the Taliban took control in 2021

The Wolesi Jirga was the chamber that bore the greater burden of lawmaking in the country. It consisted of 250 delegates directly elected by single non-transferable vote. Members were elected by district and served for five years. The constitution guaranteed at least 68 delegates to be female. The Kuchi nomads elected 10 representatives through a Single National Constituency.

The Meshrano Jirga consisted of a mixture of appointed and elected members (a total of 102 members). Sixty-eight members were selected by 34 directly elected Provincial Councils, and 34 were appointed by the President. Each provincial council elected one council member to serve in the Jirga, and each district council also elected one member. Representatives of the provincial councils served a term of four years, while representatives of the district councils served a term of three years.

The National Assembly was the legislature of Afghanistan from the monarchy, republican, communist, and democratic periods between 1931 and 2021. It was suspended between 1992 and 2005 due to the ongoing war and was reconstituted in 2005 after the collapse of the first Taliban regime.

When the Taliban took control of the country on 15 August 2021, the National Assembly was dissolved, and legislative authority was transferred to the Leadership Council. The Taliban did not include the National Assembly in its first national budget in May 2022, along with several other agencies of the former government. Government spokesman Innamullah Samangani stated that only active agencies were included in the budget due to the financial crisis, but noted that the excluded agencies could be brought back "if needed".

The Afghan Parliament was a bicameral body, comprising two chambers: the House of Elders and the House of the People

The Afghan Parliament, also known as the National Assembly, was the legislature of Afghanistan from 1931 until 2021. It was a bicameral body, comprising two chambers: the House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga) and the House of the People (Wolesi Jirga).

The House of Elders was the upper house of the National Assembly, with 102 seats. It primarily had an advisory role, though it did possess some veto power. The House of Elders consisted of a mixture of appointed and elected members. One-third of the members were elected by district councils, one-third by provincial councils, and one-third were nominated by the president. Half of the presidential nominees had to be women, and the House included two representatives from the disabled and impaired and two from the Kuchis.

The House of the People was the lower house of the National Assembly, with 250 seats. It bore the greater burden of lawmaking in the country, as with the House of Commons in the Westminster model. Members were directly elected by the people, with each province given proportionate representation according to its population. The constitution guaranteed at least 68 delegates to be female, and Kuchi nomads elected 10 representatives through a Single National Constituency.

The National Assembly was dissolved when the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021, transferring legislative authority to the Leadership Council.

The House of the People bore the greater burden of lawmaking in the country

Afghanistan's legislature, the National Assembly, was bicameral, comprising two chambers: the House of the People (or Wolesi Jirga) and the House of Elders (or Meshrano Jirga). The House of the People was the lower house of the National Assembly and bore the greater burden of lawmaking in the country.

The House of the People was made up of 249 or 250 delegates, directly elected by single non-transferable vote. Members were elected by district and served for five years. The constitution guaranteed at least 64 or 68 female delegates. Kuchi nomads elected 10 representatives through a Single National Constituency.

The House of the People had the primary responsibility for making and ratifying laws and approving the actions of the president. The first elections in decades were held in September 2005, four years after the fall of the Taliban regime, and still under international supervision. The 2010 Wolesi Jirga election was held on 18 September 2010, and the 2018 election on 20 October 2018, after almost three years of delay. The new Parliament was later inaugurated on 26 April 2019.

The House of the People was effectively dissolved when the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021. The Taliban did not include the House of the People and several other agencies of the former government in its first national budget in May 2022. Government spokesman Innamullah Samangani said that only active agencies were included in the budget, but noted that the excluded ones could be brought back "if needed".

The House of the People had 250 seats, with at least 64-68 guaranteed to be female

Afghanistan's legislature, the National Assembly, was a bicameral body comprising two chambers: the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders) and the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People). The Wolesi Jirga, or House of the People, had 250 seats with members directly elected by the people. The constitution guaranteed that at least 64 to 68 of these seats would be held by women.

The Wolesi Jirga was the chamber that bore the greater burden of lawmaking in the country. Its 250 members were elected by district and served five-year terms. In addition to the 64 to 68 seats reserved for women under the Constitution, 17 women were elected in their own right. Each province was given proportionate representation in the Wolesi Jirga according to its population.

The House of the People had the primary responsibility for making and ratifying laws and approving the actions of the president. The first elections in decades were held in September 2005, four years after the fall of the Taliban regime, and were supervised by the UN and NATO.

The National Assembly was dissolved when the Taliban regained control of the country in August 2021.

The Afghan Parliament building was constructed by India and inaugurated in 2015

Afghanistan's National Assembly, also known as the Afghan Parliament, was located next to the Darul Aman Palace in Darulaman, Kabul. The building was constructed by India as part of its contribution to the rebuilding of Afghanistan and was inaugurated in late 2015 by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The foundation stone for the new National Assembly building was laid in August 2005 by the last reigning monarch of Afghanistan, King Zahir, in the presence of Hamid Karzai and Manmohan Singh. India's Central Public Works Department (CPWD) was the consultant for the project, and the contract was awarded to an Indian infrastructure company in 2008. The new Parliament building is situated on a 40-hectare plot in the famous Darulaman section of Kabul, next to two historical landmarks: the Darul Aman Palace and the Tajbeg Palace.

The construction of the $220 million building faced several delays due to challenging work conditions, a shortage of skilled workers, and security concerns. The initial deadline of 2012 was pushed back, and the project ended up taking twice as long as initially planned. More than 500 labourers worked on the building, most of them Indian nationals.

The main attraction of the building is a bronze dome with a diameter of 32 meters and a height of 17.15 meters, considered the largest dome in Asia. The large dome covers the assembly hall, while a smaller dome sits above the entrance lobby. In front of the building, there is a water body with nine cascading fountains. Inside, a 6-meter fountain made of green marble imported from the Indian city of Udaipur has been installed.

The new Parliament building symbolised the ties between India and Afghanistan and was a gift from India to Afghanistan to support the rebirth of its western neighbour after decades of foreign occupation and civil war. It stood as a symbol of the two countries' friendship and cooperation and Afghanistan's indomitable faith in its future.

Frequently asked questions