Syria holds first elections since Assad’s fall

Syria is holding its first parliamentary elections on Sunday since the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad, but voting will take place in only part of the country amid continuing instability and concerns over fairness.

The elections will not involve a direct popular vote. Instead, “electoral colleges” will select two-thirds of the 210 members of the new People’s Assembly, which is expected to serve during a transitional period. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa will appoint the remaining 70 members.

Officials say polls have been postponed in three provinces — Raqqa, Hassakeh and Suweida — due to security concerns. The decision means only 50 of the country’s 60 electoral districts will take part, filling about 120 seats.

Assad was ousted 10 months ago by forces loyal to Sharaa, ending a 13-year civil war that left more than 600,000 people dead and displaced over 12 million.

The elections are being supervised by the Higher Committee for the Syrian People’s Assembly Elections, whose 11 members were appointed by the president in June. Seat allocations are based on a 2010 census — a year before the conflict erupted.

More than 1,500 candidates are competing, all of them members of the electoral colleges. Supporters of the former regime, members of designated terrorist groups, or advocates of separatism were barred from running. At least 20% of the electoral college members must be women, but there are no gender or minority quotas for the assembly itself.

Fourteen Syrian civil society groups have criticized the electoral process, warning that Sharaa’s power to appoint one-third of parliament undermines its independence.

“This setup makes the parliament susceptible to power balances not reflecting the voters’ will,” they said in a joint statement. “It enables the executive authority to dominate an institution that should be independent and representative.”

President Sharaa defended the system, citing logistical difficulties. “As a transitional period, it is difficult to hold popular elections due to the loss of documents and the fact that half of the population is outside Syria,” he said in a televised interview, referring to millions of refugees still abroad.

In his address to the UN General Assembly last week — the first by a Syrian leader in 60 years — Sharaa pledged to prosecute those responsible for war crimes and to “rebuild Syria through new institutions and laws guaranteeing the rights of all.”

Raqqa and Hassakeh are largely controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which remains in a political standoff with the interim government over integrating its military and civilian structures.

“The electoral process shows the government still has the same authoritarian mentality,” said Thouraya Mustafa of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). “This government does not represent the will of the Syrian people.”

In Suweida, tensions have remained high following deadly clashes in July between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes. Monitoring groups say more than 1,000 people were killed, most of them Druze.

“The People’s Assembly should be elected by the people,” said Hussam Nasreddin, a resident of the Druze-majority suburb of Jaramana. “What we see now is more like an appointment.”

Despite official promises of reform, many Syrians and international observers say the vote — limited in scope and tightly controlled — offers little sign of genuine democratic change.