Syriac Politician: Hasakah elections exclude communities and reproduce centralized rule

The Syrian parliamentary appointments in Hasakah Governorate, which took place on May 24, sparked anger among social and political circles in Syria, who described the process as a “satirical performance.” They said it lacked proper electoral procedures and genuine representation of Syria’s components, including Kurds, Armenians, and Syriac-Assyrians, in a scene that recalls the exclusionary policies previously practiced by the former Baathist regime against minority communities.

Rubel Bahou said that the recent parliamentary appointments in Hasakah Governorate do not reflect the region’s diversity. He warned that current policies amount to the “complete erasure” of Syriac-Assyrian, Kurdish, and Armenian participation by entrenching a highly centralized system in Damascus reminiscent of the former Baathist regime.

The appointments to the Syrian parliament in Hasakah Governorate, announced on May 24, sparked criticism among political and social circles in Syria, with many likening the process to a farce. Critics argued that it lacked proper electoral procedures and failed to provide genuine representation for Syria’s communities, including Kurds, Armenians, and Syriac-Assyrians, evoking memories of the exclusionary policies practiced by the former Baathist regime.

Commenting on the issue, Bahou said: “Amid Syria’s transitional process and the electoral entitlement allocated to Hasakah, what took place recently was essentially a series of appointments. Even the selection of the electoral body was conducted in a manner that was unsuitable for the region’s communities and did not reflect the diversity that exists in Hasakah, particularly given the presence of Kurds, Syriacs, Armenians, and other groups. There was a significant lack of representation and serious underrepresentation of these communities in the Syrian parliament.”

He added: “The extreme centralization currently prevailing in Damascus resembles the Baathist system. Despite the flaws of the previous regime, it at least designated representatives for the Syriac-Assyrian people in parliament, even if they did not truly represent Syriacs. Today, however, there is a complete erasure of Syriac participation in parliament.”

Bahou stressed that achieving national consensus during the current phase is essential and should be based on respect for Syria’s ethnic and religious diversity. “There must be genuine representation of these communities in the Syrian parliament,” he said, “their voices must be heard, and their rights guaranteed, in order to overcome the shortcomings that Syrians suffered from in the past.”

He also called for a review of the electoral mechanism, stating: “There should be a multi-chamber parliament so that communities can represent themselves adequately. In this way, the demands of Syria’s peoples and communities can truly be heard. The Syriac-Assyrian people, in particular, currently have only a single voice in parliament, which constitutes a major injustice against Syriacs in Syria.”

Bahou continued: “The methods previously employed by the Baath Party must not be repeated. We must examine the causes that led to the Syrian uprising in 2011 and avoid reproducing them. Real solutions must be found to address the demands of the country’s communities, ensuring their proper representation and enabling them to hold government positions and participate in decision-making within national and local institutions. Serious attention must be paid to the factors that produced past crises and to finding solutions for them.”

Bahou concluded by saying: “The Syriac-Assyrian people are an indigenous people of Syria with a history in the region stretching back thousands of years. Their situation must be carefully studied, their voices genuinely heard, and their concerns properly taken into account. There must be real representation for all communities, whether through elections or through the allocation of parliamentary seats. These demands should be considered essential for Syria’s recovery, stability, and prosperity.”

ANHA