In July of 2002, Hamid Karzai was elected President of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA).  In addition to continuing the vital work of reconstruction in Afghanistan, one of the fundamental responsibilities of TISA was to facilitate a Constitutional Loya Jirga, which would bring together representative delegates from across Afghanistan to debate and approve a new Constitution for the nation. 

In October of 2002, President Karzai established a Constitutional Commission to solicit input from across the nation and to prepare a draft document which could be debated and refined at the Constitutional Loya Jirga.  The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, unanimously endorsed by the more than 500 delegates at the Constitutional Loya Jirga on January 3, 2004, and ratified by President Karzai on January 26, 2004, laid the framework for Afghanistan's elections.

Presidential Election (held October 9, 2004)

The Presidential Election was held on October 9, 2004.  More than 8 million voters from across Afghanistan (and in refugee camps in Iran and Pakistan) cast their ballots for one of 18 candidates – including a woman – contesting the ballot.  The first ballot in the election was cast by an Afghan woman in Pakistan.  Hamid Karzai won more than 55% of the vote, defeating the next closest candidate by more than 3 million votes.  On December 7, 2004, in the presence of dignitaries and officials from across the globe, Hamid Karzai was inaugurated as the first President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

National Assembly Elections (scheduled September 18, 2005)

Elections for Afghanistan’s National Assembly (divided into an upper and lower house) will be held on September 18, 2005.  Simultaneous elections for Provincial Councils will be held for all 34 provinces on the same day.  Registration of candidates has now begun in Afghanistan.  For more information on the composition of the National Assembly, please click here or follow the links on the left navigation bar.