The National Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Cote d’Ivoire since the establishment of the Third Republic in 2016. Previously, it was the only chamber of Parliament during the First and Second Republics. It derives its heritage from the colonial period. It was established by the Ivorian Constitution of October 31, 1960 and composed on November 27, 1960 with a membership of seventy elected deputies, all Ivorians. The National Assembly is composed of 255 seats elected for five years on a first-past-the-post basis, of which 169 are in single-member constituencies and 36 in constituencies of two to six seats. In the latter, voters cast ballots for blocked lists of as many candidates as there are seats to be filled. In both cases, the candidate or list of candidates with the most votes in their district wins the number of seats to be filled. Since a decree issued in November 2020, parties have been required to present a minimum of 30 per cent women among their total candidates. The decree also encourages parties to field more women candidates by providing additional public funding to those whose share of women candidates exceeds 50 per cent. However, the 30 per cent quota lacks enforcement measures, leading to non-compliance by parties in the absence of fines. The first elections held under this decree in 2021 saw only a total of 15 per cent women candidates, as no party met the quota.