Syria is heading into an uncertain but historic moment. On October 5, the country will hold parliamentary elections for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. For many, it is a chance to rebuild after more than a decade of civil war and over forty years of dictatorship. The new interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, announced that the vote will be part of a \u201cbroader democratic process\u201d designed to lay the foundations for a new political order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The election will fill 210 seats in the People\u2019s Assembly, though the system is far from a direct popular vote. A third of the seats will be appointed directly by al-Sharaa. The remaining seats will be chosen through an indirect process involving electoral colleges set up by local committees. Al-Sharaa has described this as a necessary step in a fractured country, but critics see it as a structure that keeps too much power in his hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new parliament will be responsible for rewriting laws, ratifying treaties, and potentially reshaping Syria\u2019s economy and foreign policy. It will also serve as a test of whether the country can move toward genuine pluralism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mechanics of the vote are complicated and unfamiliar to many Syrians. Instead of casting ballots themselves, citizens will be represented by members of electoral colleges. These colleges are being formed by subcommittees in Syria\u2019s 62 electoral districts, each one appointing between 30 and 50 individuals. In total, between 6,000 and 7,000 electors will take part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only these electors can run for office and only they can vote for candidates. Campaigning is limited to short, private appeals to the colleges rather than open rallies or political advertisements. Observers will be allowed in some stages, but the most sensitive parts of the process\u2014such as the formation of the colleges themselves\u2014will not be subject to independent oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials admit that parts of the country will not vote at all. Polling has been postponed indefinitely in Sweida, Hasakah, and Raqqa due to security concerns and ongoing conflicts with Druze and Kurdish forces. This means that about 19 seats will remain vacant or subject to presidential appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the government and its backers, the election represents a new beginning. State news agency SANA has described the process as a step that will \u201clay the groundwork for a broader democratic process following the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some analysts see potential improvements compared with past systems. Syrian analyst Haid Haid wrote that \u201con paper, the electoral process introduces modest but meaningful improvements,\u201d pointing to safeguards such as appeal mechanisms, requirements for women\u2019s representation, and steps to include displaced people and former prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public opinion surveys suggest a degree of optimism as well. A poll conducted by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies found that 57 percent of Syrians believed the political situation was moving in a positive direction. Many Syrians say that while the system is imperfect, it is at least a break from the total control of Assad\u2019s rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interim President al-Sharaa has also sought to reassure Syrians and the international community. In comments to local media, he said that \u201csecurity talks with Israel are a necessity,\u201d but stressed that any agreement must \u201crespect Syria\u2019s territorial integrity and end Israeli violations of its airspace.\u201d He has promised that the new constitutional declaration, which preserves Islamic law but guarantees freedom of expression and women\u2019s rights, will create a framework for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics remain deeply skeptical. Many minority groups argue that the process is exclusionary and consolidates power in the hands of al-Sharaa and his allies. Civil society groups recently published a joint statement calling the election illegitimate and warning that it gives the president too much influence over both the process and the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies described the election bluntly: \u201cParliamentary elections in Syria will take place in September, Damascus announced\u2026 but the people will not vote and presidential appointees will choose the winners.\u201d The group emphasized that \u201cthere will be neither a direct vote by the Syrian people nor an indirect process where elected representatives choose lawmakers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concerns also extend to the structure of power under the interim constitution. Presidential decrees carry the force of law and can only be overturned by a two-thirds majority in parliament. Since al-Sharaa will appoint one-third of lawmakers, critics argue that he can ensure enough loyalists to block any challenge to his authority. As one opposition statement put it, this creates \u201ca parliament designed to mimic pluralism without challenging the president\u2019s dominance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some minority representatives, particularly from Kurdish and Druze communities, have been outspoken in their rejection of the process. They say it fails to represent their voices and simply replaces one authoritarian order with another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Syria\u2019s October elections may be both a turning point and a trap. For the first time in decades, there is an opportunity to create a representative legislature, one that could push the country toward stability and reform. Supporters highlight new safeguards and international monitoring, while many ordinary Syrians say that anything is better than the iron grip of Assad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet the structure of the system, the dominance of presidential appointments, and the exclusion of key groups may undermine the very legitimacy the government is trying to achieve. Analyst Haid Haid captured the dilemma when he noted that while the process \u201cintroduces incremental but notable improvements,\u201d it is also \u201covershadowed by structural ambiguities and unresolved questions that leave the process vulnerable to manipulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The real question is whether the new assembly will act independently or serve as a rubber stamp. Without genuine pluralism and accountability, Syria may find itself trading one strongman for another. The hope of moving from the so-called \u201caxis of evil\u201d to democratic freedom will depend not on promises, but on whether power is truly shared and citizens eventually have a real voice in their own future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NP Editor:<\/strong> Every once in a great while, a charade turns into the real thing, a structure of democracy forced to evolve into a real democracy. But not often. And the current leadership has links to terrorist organizations. This will be interesting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Syria is heading into an uncertain but historic moment. On October 5, the country will hold parliamentary elections for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. For many, it is a chance to rebuild after more than a decade of civil war and over forty years of dictatorship. The new interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, announced that the vote will be part of a \u201cbroader democratic process\u201d designed to lay the foundations for a new political […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,38,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asian-politics","category-middle-east","category-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/syriaasdfas.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6540"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6542,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6540\/revisions\/6542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}