The House of Representatives of the People, or Da Afghanistan Wolesi Jirga (), was the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, alongside the upper House of Elders.
The House of Representatives of the People was the chamber that bore the greater burden of lawmaking in the country, as with the House of Commons in the Westminster model. It consisted of 250 delegates directly elected by single non-transferable vote. Members were elected by district and served for five years. The constitution guaranteed at least 68 delegates to be female. Kuchi nomads elect 10 representatives through a Single National Constituency.
The House of Representatives of the People had the primary responsibility for making and ratifying laws and approving the actions of the president. The first elections in decades were held in September 2005, four years after the fall of the Taliban regime, still under international (mainly UN and NATO) supervision.
The 2010 Wolesi Jirga election was held on 18 September 2010 and the 2018 Wolesi Jirga election was held on 20 October 2018 after almost three years of delay The new Parliament was later inaugurated on 26 April 2019.
It was effectively dissolved when the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021. The Taliban did not include the House of the People 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".
Elections
Elections were last held on 20 October 2018. Originally, they had been scheduled for 15 October 2016, but were initially postponed to 7 July 2018, and then again to 20 October. The last Parliament was later sworn in by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on 26 April 2019. The last Parliament was also Afghanistan 17th Parliament. The same day final results from four Afghanistan provinces revealed, among other things, that House of the People former speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi of Kunduz had been re-elected to the House of the People as well.
Last election
Speakers Speakers of the Wolesi Jirga since establishment of Parliamentary institutions in 1931.
NameEntered officeLeft officeNotesAbdul Ahad Wardak 19311933Abdul Ahad Wardak 19341936Abdul Ahad Wardak 19371939Abdul Ahad Wardak 19401942Abdul Ahad Wardak 19431945Sultan Ahmad Khan19461948Abdul Hadi Dawi 19491951Abdul Rasheed Khan 19521954Mohammad Nawroz Khan19551957Mohammad Nawroz Khan19581960Abdul Zahir 19611964Abdul Zahir 19651968Mohammad Omer Wardak19691972Dissolved19731988Khalil Abawi19881992Not functioning19922005Yunus Qanuni 20052010 Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi 20112019Mir Rahman Rahmani 20192021
Representation
See also National Assembly of Afghanistan House of Elders Politics of Afghanistan List of legislatures by country
References
External links
Official website (archived 16 August 2021)