Afghanistan
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Parliament name
Jirga (National Assembly)
Chamber name
Wolesi Jirga (House of the People)
Structure & Status of parliament
This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
from 1990 to 1992
from 2007
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
President of the House of the People
Speaker
Mir Rahman
Rahmani
(Male)
Year of birth
1962
Term
29.06.2019
Additional information
Elected on 29 June 2019.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Secretary General
Secretary General
Abdul Qader
Aryubi
(Male)
Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 27 April 2019.
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Compare data of this field.
Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
250
Note on the statutory number of members
Directly elected members includes:
- 1 seat reserved for a representative of both the Hindu and Sikh communities;
- 10 seats reserved for Kuchis, including at least three women;
- 65 additional seats reserved for women; thus at least 68 women in total.
See historical data for this field.
- 1 seat reserved for a representative of both the Hindu and Sikh communities;
- 10 seats reserved for Kuchis, including at least three women;
- 65 additional seats reserved for women; thus at least 68 women in total.
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature.
Youngest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member
Suraya Akbari (Female)
Number of members, by age
| 18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals per age interval | 0 | 14 | 78 | 34 | 39 | 62 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total <= 45: 126 | Total >= 46: 122 | ||||||||||
| Male | 0 | 7 | 59 | 21 | 27 | 46 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180 |
| Female | 0 | 7 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 |
Members for whom data is available
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Number of reserved seats, by group
Women
68
Indigenous peoples
11
Notes
According to Article 83 of the 2004 Constitution, 69 of the 250 total seats in the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga) are reserved for women, comprising at least 2 women for each of the 34 provinces of the country; 10 seats are reserved for Kuchi Nomads, and 1 seat is reserved for a representative of both the Hindu and Sikh communities.
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Notes
‘If there are not enough female candidates on the list to occupy the allocated seat, the Commission shall adopt measures to make sure the seats do not remain vacant.’ (Electoral Law 2010, Article 23)
Legal source
Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
Electoral Law 2010, art. 20-23; Constitution, art. 83
Electoral quota for youth
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.