Syria held its first elections after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. Syrians elected two-thirds of the 210 members of parliament, while one-third will be personally appointed by the country’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. reports Reuters.
Voting took place in the format of indirect elections — 6,000 voters from a special collegium voted for candidates to the parliament who should represent all 14 provinces of Syria. The Electoral College was formed by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and his separate committee identified 1,570 candidates.
The authorities chose indirect elections due to the lack of reliable data on the country’s population, as well as the number of Syrians abroad who are in refugee status or have the right to reside in other countries.
In three provinces, elections were canceled due to the unstable situation, so 19 seats in the parliament will remain vacant. Despite this, President Ahmed al-Sharaa called on the newly elected parliament to take swift action in the law-making sphere, in particular, to adopt the country’s new constitution.
“There are many unresolved issues in Syria that we need to resolve, so we have done everything possible to find an opportunity to fill this gap as soon as possible, – Sharaa said on Sunday while visiting the main polling station in Damascus.
Syrians perceive the elections with caution, but with some optimism. Damascus resident Sanaa al-Ali told Reuters that she believed the elections would “not lead to significant changes” in the country At the same time, a resident of Aleppo, Sameh Gindawi, expressed hope that the next elections will be held in a direct format and all Syrian citizens will be able to vote in person.
