Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
January 31, 2006
Afghanistan National Assembly
The Afghan National Assembly is Afghanistan’s first elected legislature since 1969.
- Support for Afghanistan’s democratic reconstruction has been an important investment in the country’s future. Afghans want peace and stability, but have also repeatedly demonstrated a desire for democracy and self-governance that has won the support and respect of the international community. In the election for the National Assembly, voter turnout was substantial (53% of the country’s 12.5 million registered voters – about 43% of whom were women).
The United States contributed $40 million toward the September 2005 National Assembly election costs and $20 million for voter education and other election support. U.S. forces contributed to election security. The U.S. and other international donors sponsored training sessions on legislative duties and functions for members of the National Assembly and their professional staff. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney attended the National Assembly’s historic inauguration on December 19, 2005.
The 102-member Upper House ("Meshrano Jirga") has 68 members selected by 34 directly elected Provincial Councils, and 34 members appointed by President Karzai. Karzai’s 34 appointments were vetted by an independent, UN-supported election board and included 17 women, as required by the Constitution. Former Afghan President Mojadeddi was appointed President of the Upper House.
The Lower House (“Wolesi Jirga”) has 249 seats and is directly elected. Sixty-eight women were elected to the Lower House to seats reserved for women under the 2004 Constitution, of which 17 of the 68 women would have been elected in their own right even without the set-aside seats. Ethnic makeup of the Assembly is in rough proportion to population (45 percent Pashtun, 25 percent Hazara, 8 percent Uzbek).
2006/116
Released on January 31, 2006
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