Legislative Branch
The 2005 parliamentary election for the Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) were conducted on September 18, 2005. This was the first parliamentary election in Afghanistan since 1969. Approximately 2,707 candidates, including 328 women, competed for 249 seats. The election was conducted with multiple seat electoral constituencies. Each province is a constituency and has a varying number of seats, depending on population. Voters have a single non-transferable vote.
The Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders) consists of 102 members. One-third of the members were appointed by the president, while another third was elected by the provincial councils. Elections for the provincial councils were held simultaneously with those for the Wolesi Jirga. The remaining third is supposed to be elected by district councils. However, elections for the district councils have been postponed, meaning that one-third of the seats in the Meshrano Jirga will be vacant when it assembles. Despite Taliban and other anti-government forces stating they intended to disrupt the elections, the polling day went by with minimal violence.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Afghanistan
Famous quotes containing the words legislative and/or branch:
“I find it profoundly symbolic that I am appearing before a committee of fifteen men who will report to a legislative body of one hundred men because of a decision handed down by a court comprised of nine men—on an issue that affects millions of women.... I have the feeling that if men could get pregnant, we wouldn’t be struggling for this legislation. If men could get pregnant, maternity benefits would be as sacrosanct as the G.I. Bill.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)
“In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)