- Note also the House of Elders of Somaliland
Mesherano Jirga (Pashto: مشرانوجرګه) or the House of Elders, is the upper house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan, alongside the Wolesi Jirga ("people's assembly" or lower house, the main legislature).
It has 102 members. One-third of it (34) are elected by district councils (one per province) for 3-year terms, one-third (34) by provincial councils (one per province) for 4-year terms, and one-third (34) are nominated by the president for 5-year terms. However, elections for the district councils were not held in the 2005 parliamentary elections. As such, each provincial council also selected one of its elected members to temporarily hold seats in the house until district council elections are held. Half of the presidential nominees have to be women, two representatives from the disabled and impaired and two from the Kuchis.[1]
This house forms more of an advisory role rather than a maker of law. Still, the house has some veto power.
[edit] Reserved seats for female MP's
Having been absent from the decision-making process for centuries, Afghan women for the first time entered the political arena in 2001, after the overthrow of Taliban. With the introduction of reserved seats provision in the 2002 Emergency Loya Jirga, when 10% of 1600 seats were reserved for women, the ground was laid for participation of Afghan women in parliament.
The new 2004 constitution secured reserved seats for women and minorities in both houses of parliament. In the 2005 parliamentarian elections, Afghan women won 89 seats. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, in 2009 they are holding 67 seats (27.7%) in Wolesi Jirga (lower house) and 22 (21.6%) in Meshrano Jirga (upper house). This representation is above the worldwide average of 18.5% and above the average of the United States at 16.8% for the House and 15.4% for the Senate.
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