Accusations of "pre-appointment" accompany selection of People's Assembly members in Hasaka

Elections for members of the People's Assembly were held in both Hasaka governorate and Kobani city, amid widespread controversy and mixed reactions to the process. Kurdish political forces continued to criticize the elections, asserting that they did not reflect fair and transparent representation.

The High Elections Committee announced the selection of Kim Hussein Ibrahim, Radwan Othman Sido, Abdel Halim Khedr al-Ali, and Mahmoud Madi al-Ali as members of the People's Assembly representing the Qamishlo electoral district in Hasaka governorate. Additionally, Ibrahim Mustafa al-Ali, Omer Issa Hayes, and Fasla Youssef were selected for the Hasaka district, while Afrah Anwar Shahin and Shawakh Ibrahim al-Assaf were chosen to represent the Kobani region in the Aleppo countryside.

According to the announcement, the High Elections Committee designated the meeting hall in the Hasaka governorate administration building as the polling center for Hasaka, while the old cultural center in Hasaka was designated as the polling center for Qamishlo, and the cultural center in Kobani was designated as a polling station for the electoral district.

According to official data, the process was conducted using a system combining selection and pre-appointment, as specific seats were allocated to each electoral district, with some members elected through ballot boxes within the designated districts, while others were appointed by the head of the Interim Government.

The People's Assembly currently has 210 members, 70 of whom are appointed through this mechanism, as is the practice during the transitional phase.

Regarding the electoral college participation in Qamishlo, the organizing committee reported that more than 110 members cast their votes out of 207 registered members; 7 candidates competed for 4 seats, and voter participation was described as limited compared to the total number of registered voters.

A member of the Qamishlo City Council, Azzam al-Dandah, said in a video posted earlier on Sunday that what is happening today is "an electoral farce. This morning, slips of paper were distributed containing the names of those imposed by the political body affiliated with the government."

With the start of the electoral process in Hasaka governorate two weeks ago, varied political and popular reactions have emerged. Kurdish parties and forces have expressed their rejection of the way the elections are being conducted. 24 Kurdish political parties and blocs condemned what they described as an unfair mechanism for distributing representation, arguing that reducing the number of seats allocated to Kurds in Hasaka governorate does not reflect the demographic and political reality and represents a continuation of exclusionary policies.

On Sunday, social media circulated statements from a number of political figures, including Fawza Youssef; the member of the Presidential Council of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), criticizing the conduct of the process and noting that some appointments were made in advance and that what happened at the polling stations did not reflect the will of the voters.

This process comes within the framework of the political transition the country is undergoing after the recent political changes. The mechanism for forming the People's Assembly in Syria relies on a combination of selection within designated districts and appointment by the executive authority.

While the organizers believe that the process was conducted according to the established frameworks for completing the legislative institutions, opponents continue to call for a review of the representation mechanisms and for greater transparency and fairness in the distribution of seats and political opportunities within the legislative bodies.

ANHA