How Syria’s new parliament formed

Syria’s interim government is preparing to hold the first session of its parliament (the Syrian People’s Assembly) on June 8, according to several sources, after completing the selection of members from Hasakah province during the transitional phase following the fall of the Baathist regime. Debate continues over the mechanism of its formation and the nature of the representation it reflects within the legislative institution.

The parliament, or “People’s Assembly,” serves as the legislative authority during the transitional period and consists of 210 members. Of these, 140 were selected through electoral bodies formed in the provinces under an indirect electoral system, while 70 members are appointed by the head of the transitional phase, Ahmad al-Sharaa, with the appointments still being finalized.

According to the temporary electoral system approved by the interim government in August 2025, no direct nationwide elections were held. Instead, the process began with the formation of subcommittees in the provinces, which selected local electoral bodies that later elected parliament members. The remaining one-third of the seats was reserved for the head of the interim government.

The current system does not rely on direct public candidacy, as competition is limited to individuals selected within the electoral bodies. The system also sets conditions for candidates, including Syrian nationality, a minimum age of 25, legal eligibility, and good conduct, while excluding individuals linked to the former regime’s institutions or military and security agencies after 2011.

The interim government distributed the parliament’s 210 seats among the provinces. Aleppo received 32 seats, Damascus 10, Rural Damascus 12, Homs, Hama, and Idlib 12 seats each, while Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah received 10 seats each, and Raqqa 6 seats, with varying shares allocated to the remaining provinces.

These allocations drew criticism from political and social groups, especially in Kurdish regions. Twenty-four political parties and groups condemned what they described as attempts by the interim government to reproduce policies of marginalization against Kurds through the formation mechanism of the Syrian People’s Assembly. They argued that limiting Kurdish representation to only four seats ignores demographic and political realities and paves the way for institutionalized exclusion in the future.

The parliament is expected to undertake legislative duties, discuss public policies, oversee government performance during the transitional period, approve laws regulating public life, and accompany upcoming political and constitutional processes.

However, the parliament’s formation mechanism has faced criticism from political and civil forces across Syria, which argue that the electoral-body system does not provide direct representation for voters. Authorities, meanwhile, said the mechanism was adopted “in response to the special nature of the transitional phase and the country’s current conditions, aiming to ensure broader participation of various social and regional components.”

The Syriac Union Party criticized the mechanism for selecting representatives from Hasakah province, stating that it does not reflect the province’s political and demographic diversity, and called for fair representation of Christians and the Syriac-Assyrian people.

The Armenian Union Party also criticized the appointment mechanism for parliament members from Hasakah, rejecting it as exclusionary toward Armenians and Christian communities, and demanded the restructuring of the electoral body to ensure fair representation of all components of the province.

Azzam al-Dandah, a candidate from Qamishlo district, described the selection process for parliament members in Hasakah as “an electoral farce,” accusing the government-affiliated political committee of directing voters and imposing predetermined names through ready-made lists that do not reflect the true will of voters.

As the date of the first session approaches, attention is turning to the parliament’s composition to assess its ability to represent Syria’s diversity and address the political, economic, and administrative challenges of the coming phase, especially since most members reached parliament through electoral bodies and local committees formed under government supervision, while one-third of the members will be appointed directly by the head of the interim government.

Looking at the history of parliament during the Baathist era and the current procedures for forming a parliament, the difference between the current transitional parliament and the former “People’s Assembly” under Baathist rule can be clarified from two main angles: the formation mechanism and the political role.

Under the previous regime led by the Baath Party, the “People’s Assembly” was elected through direct public elections. However, political competition was effectively restricted to the Baath Arab Socialist Party and its allies in the “National Progressive Front,” making election results largely predetermined and leaving the legislative authority with limited independence from the executive branch.

In the current parliament, there is no direct popular vote. Instead, it is formed through local electoral bodies selected by the authorities in the provinces, in addition to appointments made by the interim government leadership. This represents a different mechanism for entering parliament, though it remains controversial regarding the level of direct public representation and participation in its formation.

ANHA