The House of Elders or Mesherano Jirga ( ps, د افغانستان مشرانو جرګه), was the
upper house
An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...
of the
bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan
The National Assembly ( ps, , Mili Shura, prs, , Shura-e Milli), also known as the Parliament of Afghanistan or simply as the Afghan Parliament, was the legislature of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It was effectively dissolved when the ...
, alongside the lower
House of the People (Wolesi Jirga). It was effectively dissolved when the
Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021. The Taliban did not include the House of Elders and several other agencies of the former government in its first national budget in May 2022. Government spokesman Innamullah Samangani said that due to the financial crisis, only active agencies were included in the budget, and the excluded ones had been dissolved, but noted they could be brought back "if needed".
The House of Elders primarily had an advisory role rather than a maker of law. However, it does have some veto power.
The House of Elders has 102 members. One-third (34) were elected by district councils (one per province) for three-year terms, one-third (34) by provincial councils (one per province) for four-year terms, and one-third (34) were nominated by the president for five-year terms. However, elections for the district councils were not held in the 2005 parliamentary elections. As such, each provincial council also selected one of its elected members to temporarily hold seats in the house until district council elections were held. Half of the presidential nominees had to be women, two representatives from the
disabled and impaired and two from the
Kuchis
Kochis or Kuchis (Pashto: کوچۍ Kuchis) are pastoral nomads belonging primarily to the Ghilji Pashtuns. In the southern, western and northern regions of Afghanistan they are also referred to at times as maldar (Pashto: مالدار maldar ...
.
[Article 84 of the Afghan Constitution.]
Speakers
Speakers of the Mesherano Jirga since establishment in 1931
Reserved seats for women
Having been absent from the decision-making process for centuries, Afghan women for the first time entered the political arena in 2001, after the overthrow of
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
. With the introduction of reserved seats provision in the 2002 Emergency
Loya Jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
, when ten percent of 1600 seats were reserved for women, the ground was laid for participation of Afghan women in parliament.
The new 2004 constitution secured reserved seats for women and minorities in both houses of parliament. In the 2005 parliamentarian elections, Afghan women won 89 seats. According to the
Inter-Parliamentary Union, in 2009 they held 67 seats (27.7%) in the House of the People and 22 (21.6%) in the House of Elders. This representation is above the worldwide average of 18.5% and above the average of the United States at 16.8% for the
House and 15.4% for the
Senate.
See also
*
National Assembly of Afghanistan
The National Assembly ( ps, , Mili Shura, prs, , Shura-e Milli), also known as the Parliament of Afghanistan or simply as the Afghan Parliament, was the legislature of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It was effectively dissolved when the ...
*
House of the People (Afghanistan)
*
Politics of Afghanistan
*
List of legislatures by country
This is a list of legislatures by country. A "legislature" is the generic name for the national parliaments and congresses that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives and that have the power to legislate. All entities included i ...
References
External links
Official website(archived 15 August 2021)
Elders
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
1931 establishments in Afghanistan
2005 establishments in Afghanistan
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