| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Jirga / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Wolesi Jirga / House of Representatives |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Meshrano Jirga / House of Elders
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
18 September 2005 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for the all seats in the House of Representatives. Last parliamentary elections were held in 1988. |
On 18 September 2005
the first parliamentary elections since 1988 were held for the 249-member House of Representatives (Wolesi Jirga)
the lower house of the Afghan National Assembly. A total of 68 seats in the House are reserved for women and 10 are filled by the representatives of the Kuchi nomads. The elections aimed to establish a fully representative government under the United Nations-mediated Bonn Accords of December 2001. They were originally scheduled for June 2004 in parallel with the presidential vote
but were postponed twice for logistical and security reasons.
A total of 2
753 candidates
of whom 12 per cent were women
sought election to the House for a five-year term. Before the election day
45 candidates were disqualified
due mainly to their links to armed militia groups. Their names
nevertheless
appeared on ballots
since the ballot papers had already been printed and distributed to polling stations. The United Nations-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB)
an independent entity
admitted experiencing difficulties in informing voters of the disqualifications. Some candidates accused of war crimes were reportedly able to run for elections.
Violence was rife during the election campaign. Seven parliamentary candidates and six election workers were killed during the two-month campaign prior to the election day. A total of 286 candidates
including 51 women
voluntarily withdrew their candidacy
some citing security concerns.
The high illiteracy rate was another major challenge to the organization of free and fair elections. Some 85 per cent of the electorate was estimated to be illiterate. In order to facilitate the voting process for those voters
candidate names on ballot papers were accompanied by photos and symbols.
In the run-up to the elections
it was unclear whether President Karzai's Youth Solidarity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Hambastagee Mili Jawanan-e-Afghanistan) would secure a majority in the newly established Parliament. The party's main rival was the 11-party coalition
the National Understanding Front (Jabha-ye-Tafahhum-e-Milli)
formed in March 2005. The coalition was led by Mr. Mohammad Yunos Qanuni
who had finished a distant second to Mr. Karzai in the 2004 presidential election. The opposition coalition insisted on the need to amend the Constitution to create a post of prime minister
to be elected by parliament and who would share power with the president. Mr. Qanuni also pledged to accelerate disarmament and deal with the narcotics problems in the country.
Some critics pointed out that the Afghan electoral system
where candidates stand for elections as individuals and not under party lists
was unlikely to produce a representative result.
The elections were monitored by more than 4
700 national and 500 international observers. A total of 12
000 NATO-led peacekeepers and 20
000 U.S.-led coalition forces were deployed to reinforce security. Due to fighting between the Taliban and U.S.-led coalition forces
16 polling centres failed to open in the southern region.
Turnout was recorded at 53 per cent
lower than expected
due in part to threats by Taliban fighters to disrupt the vote. Approximately 6.8 million of the 12.5 million eligible voters cast their ballots
far fewer than the 8 million voters who had participated in the presidential election in October 2004.
The European Union's election observation mission
consisting of about 160 observers
mentioned in its preliminary report that the polling was "generally well-administered" and largely peaceful. The report
however
raised serious concerns over security and the candidate registration process. It especially condemned electoral violence and the inadequate investigation of candidates' background with regard to war crimes.
After numerous postponements
the JEMB announced the final results on 14 November 2005 without specifying the political affiliation of the candidates elected since most of them had run as independent candidates. Several sources reported President Karzai's allies won between 65 and 118 seats
while the opposition force
the National Understanding Front
obtained between 60 and 80. Successful candidates included 20 former Communists, tribal and religious leaders, businessmen and 68 women.
On 14 November 2005
the newly elected Provincial Councils met across Afghanistan to elect representatives to the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders). In order to fill the vacant seats that should have been elected by the District Councils
for which elections were not held in September 2005
each Provincial Council elected two representatives. The House of Elders thus consists of 68 representatives of the Provincial Councils (34 permanent members and 34 transitional members who will assume the post until elections for the District Councils are held)
and 34 members appointed by the President on 11 December 2005.
The National Assembly convened for the first time on 19 December 2005
officially ending a long interruption following decades of war and the overthrow of the Taliban regime. On the following day
former interim president
Mr. Sebghatollah Mojaddedi
of the National Liberation Front of Afghanistan
who is reportedly close to President Karzai
was elected Speaker of the House of Elders
while the election for the speakership of the House of Representatives was postponed due to disagreement over procedure and the agenda of parliament. On 21 December 2005
Mr. Mohammad Yunos Qanuni was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives
narrowly beating Mr. Abdul Rabb Rasoul Sayyaf
an ally of President Hamid Karzai.
Note:
The National Understanding Front was formed on 31 March 2005 by following parties:
- Hezb-e-Afghanistan-e-Nawin (New Afghanistan Party)
led by Mohammad Yunos Qanuni;
- Hezb-e-Iqtedar-e-Milli Islami Afghanistan (Afghanistan Islamic National Authority Party)
led by Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai;
- Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan)
led by Sayed Ali Jawed;
- Hezb-e-Milli Islami Afghanistan (National Islamic Party of Afghanistan)
led by Ustad Mohammad Akbari;
- Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami Mardum-e-Afghanistan (Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan)
led by Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq;
- Hezb-e-Islami Nawin-e-Afghanistan (New Islamic Party of Afghanistan)
led by Sayed Jawad Husseini;
- Hezb-e-Solh wa Ukhwat-e-Islami Afghanistan (Afghanistan Islamic Peace and Brotherhood Party)
led byQadir Imami Ghori;
- Hezb-e-Harakat-e-Inqelab-e-Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Revolutionary Movement of Afghanistan)
led by Ahmad Nabi Mohammadi;
- Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Aqwam-e-Afghanistan (Afghanistan Ethnic Unity Party) led by Nasrullah Barakzai;
- Hezb-e-Iqtedar-e-Milli Afghanistan (National Authority Party of Afghanistan)
led by Qarabig Ezatyar;
- Hezb-e-Isteqlal-e-Milli Afghanistan (Afghanistan National Independence Party)
led by Taj Mohammad Wardak. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 18 September 2005 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
12'977'336
6'406'615 (49.37%)
328'365
6'078'250 |
|
Notes
|
*The United Nations-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) did not publish the election results for the entire country. The statistics above have been calculated on the basis of information available from the JEMB. The information is therefore incomplete. |
| Distribution of votes |
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
181
68
27.31%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
House of Representatives (01.01.2008
01.01.2010)
Joint Electoral Management Body: http://www.jemb.org/
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:http://www.rferl.org/
Institute for War & Peace Reporting: http://www.iwpr.net/
BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk
Mr. Esmatullah Muhabat of the eastern Laghman province
was killed in an armed clash on 4 December 2005. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
