India’s parliament has passed a landmark law that will see 1/3 of its lower house seats held by women. The bill received cross-party support and was celebrated by politicians across India’s political spectrum, but some expressed reservations that it could still take years for the quota to be implemented.

According to the Associated Press, this development has come to end a 27-year stalemate and overcome the lack of consensus between political parties.

But the wait is not over, as the new law will not apply to next year’s national elections.

It will be implemented in the 2029 national elections after a new census and adjustment of constituencies after next year’s pollsFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during a debate in India’s upper house of parliament on Thursday night.

The lower house approved the legislation on Wednesday by a vote of 454-2 and the Upper House passed it unanimously, 214-0, late on Thursday. India’s once-a-decade census, which was scheduled to take place in 2021, has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All opposition parties supported the bill and said the delay in its implementation is an injustice to women. They demanded that it be implemented in the next national elections, which are due to be held before May next year.