Syria's Controversial Parliamentary Formation: First Post-Assad Legislature Faces Democratic Legitimacy Questions

Members of electoral colleges cast votes to select candidates for Syria's new transitional parliament amid democratic concerns.

Syria's local committees participated in a voting process to establish a transitional parliament, though the procedure has faced criticism for its democratic shortcomings, as interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa will directly appoint one-third of the lawmakers.

The formation of this assembly is anticipated to strengthen Sharaa's position, whose Islamist coalition forces successfully overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last December, ending more than 13 years of devastating civil conflict.

Committee members lined up at Syria's National Library (formerly known as the Assad National Library) to cast their ballots, with preliminary election results scheduled for Sunday evening announcement and final results expected by Monday.

Approximately 6,000 individuals participated in the selection process.

The electoral commission reported that over 1,500 candidates are competing for positions in the assembly, with women representing only 14 percent of the candidate pool. The parliament will operate with a renewable 30-month mandate.

Sharaa will appoint 70 representatives to the 210-member legislative body.

The remaining two-thirds of parliament members are being chosen by local committees that were appointed by the electoral commission, which was itself appointed by Sharaa.

Notably, the Druze-majority Sweida province in southern Syria, which experienced sectarian violence in July, and the Kurdish-controlled northeast are excluded from the current process as they remain outside Damascus's control. Their 32 designated seats will remain vacant.

"I support the authorities and am ready to defend them, but these aren't real elections," commented Louay al-Arfi, a 77-year-old retired civil servant speaking from a Damascus café. "It's a necessity in the transitional phase, but we want direct elections to follow," he told AFP.

The new administration dissolved Syria's previous rubber-stamp legislature after taking power.

According to a temporary constitution announced in March, the incoming parliament will exercise legislative authority until a permanent constitution is adopted and new elections can be held.

Sharaa has claimed that organizing direct elections currently would be impossible, citing the large number of Syrians lacking documentation after millions fled abroad or were internally displaced during the prolonged civil war.

Speaking from the National Library on Sunday, Sharaa acknowledged criticism of the process, stating that while "it is true that the electoral process is incomplete... it is a moderate process that is appropriate for the current situation and circumstances in Syria".

Under the selection process rules, candidates must not be "supporters of the former regime" and cannot promote secession or partition.

The candidate pool includes Syrian-American Henry Hamra, the first Jewish candidate since the 1940s.

"The next parliament faces significant responsibilities, including signing and ratifying international agreements. This will lead Syria into a new phase, and it is a major responsibility," said Hala al-Qudsi, a member of Damascus's electoral committee who is also running for a seat.

Human rights organizations have criticized the selection process, arguing that it concentrates power in Sharaa's hands and fails to provide adequate representation for the country's ethnic and religious minorities.

In a joint statement last month, more than a dozen groups asserted that the process enables Sharaa to "effectively shape a parliamentary majority composed of individuals he selected or ensured loyalty from".

"You can call the process what you like, but not elections," stated Bassam Alahmad, executive director of the France-based Syrians for Truth and Justice, one of the organizations that signed the statement.

At a meeting in Damascus this week, 48-year-old candidate Mayssa Halwani said such criticism was normal. "The government is new to power and freedom is new for us," she remarked.

Nishan Ismail, a 40-year-old teacher in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, commented that "elections could have been a new political start" after Assad's fall, but "the marginalisation of numerous regions shows that the standards of political participation are not respected".

Negotiations regarding the integration of Kurdish civil and military institutions into the new central government have stalled, with Damascus rejecting demands for decentralization.

Badran Jia Kurd, an official with the Kurdish administration in the northeast, argued on social media Sunday evening that the selection process "aims to legitimise a temporary authority that does not represent the entire population, risking further divisions and fragmentation of the country".

In Sweida, the Druze-majority city in southern Syria, 48-year-old activist Burhan Azzam also criticized the process, claiming that the authorities "have ended political life" in Syria, adding that the selection process "doesn't respect the basic rules of democracy".