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Syria plans to hold its first parliamentary elections under new leadership between Sept. 15 and 20, following the fall of longtime regime leader Bashar al-Assad, officials announced Saturday.
High Election Committee Chairman Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad said the committee met with President Ahmad al-Sharaa to present key amendments to the temporary electoral law, which were drafted after rounds of consultation with various sectors of Syrian society, according to comments carried by the state-run SANA news agency.
President Sharaa underscored the importance of conducting the elections across all provinces and firmly rejected any notion of territorial division, which he said is opposed by all Syrians.
Sharaa also emphasized the need to exclude from the process individuals who collaborated with war criminals or promoted sectarianism or partition, Ahmad said.
The revised electoral system will expand the People’s Assembly from 150 to 210 seats, reflecting demographic data from the 2011 population census. Seventy of the 210 members will be appointed by the president, while the remaining 140 will be elected, Ahmad said.
Following the signing of a presidential decree approving the temporary electoral law, the High Election Committee will require about one week to form subcommittees. These subcommittees will then have 15 days to select the electoral bodies responsible for choosing lawmakers.
Candidates will be given a week to register and campaign, which will include debates with members of the electoral bodies and subcommittees. The elections are expected to be held between Sept. 15 and 20.
Ahmad also noted that women will make up at least 20% of the electoral bodies.
The election process will be open to civil society and international observers, with the High Election Committee overseeing the vote and ensuring the public has the right to challenge candidate lists and final results.
On Saturday evening, the Syrian presidency confirmed that it had received the final version of the temporary electoral law.
President Sharaa issued a decree on June 13 establishing the High Election Committee, initially setting the number of parliamentary seats at 150 before expanding it to 210.
According to the decree, the committee is responsible for forming electoral bodies that will elect two-thirds of the parliament. The remaining one-third will be filled through presidential appointments.
Seats will be allocated across provinces based on population and divided into constituencies for community leaders and intellectuals, following guidelines established by the committee.
Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party's grip on power that had lasted since 1963. A transitional administration led by Sharaa was established in January, ushering in a new political era for the war-torn country.
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