New Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform (beta)
Your one-stop-shop for information about national parliaments

Afghanistan

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House of the People

This is a bicameral parliament. Switch to theHouse of Elders
Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Presidential system
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Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Bicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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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 1990-01 to 1992-01
from 2007-01
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.
Acting President of the House of the People
Speaker
Atta Mohammad Dehqanpoor (Male)
Term
26.04.2019
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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.
250
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Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
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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.
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Current number of members Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
244
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Men The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
176
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Women The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
68
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Percentage of women Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
27.87% See historical data for this field.
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.
352 See historical data for this field.
Population (in thousands) Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
33,736
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Inhabitants per parliamentarian Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
95,841 See historical data for this field.

Age

Number of members, by age
Breakdown of members by age and gender
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 4 59 56 35 78 11 2 0 0
Total <= 45: 119 Total >= 46: 126
Male 0 1 38 34 22 68 11 2 0 0 176
Female 0 3 21 22 13 10 0 0 0 0 69
Percentage of members, by age
Age as last election or renewalOverallMaleFemale
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger1.63%0.41%1.22%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger25.71%15.92%9.8%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger48.57%29.8%18.78%
Members for whom data is available
245

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.
Yes
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Number of reserved seats, by group
Women
68
Indigenous peoples
10
Notes
According to Article 83 of the 2004 Constitution, 68 of the 249 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
Electoral quota for women Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Yes
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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.
No
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Links to additional information