Syria shares results of first parliamentary poll amid inclusivity concerns

The results of Syria’s first parliamentary election since the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime were revealed, revealing that the majority of the newly reformed People’s Assembly’s members are mostly Sunni Muslims and men.

Only two Christians and only four percent of the 119 people chosen in the indirect vote were women, according to a press release from the electoral commission on Monday, raising questions about inclusivity and fairness.

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The election marks a historic turning point for Syria’s fragile transition after nearly 14 years of conflict, but critics claim it favors well-connected individuals and will likely allow the country’s new rulers to maintain control while preventing genuine democratic change.

Najmeh, according to AFP, claimed that the proportion of women in the parliament was “not proportional to the status of women in Syrian society and their place in political, economic, and social life.”

In light of the number of Christians in Syria, he described the representation of Christians as “weak.”

Following the war, which left millions of Syrians dead and millions of people displaced, the authorities switched to an indirect voting system rather than universal suffrage.

About 75% of Syrians are believed to be Sunni Muslims. After a nearly 14-year civil war, the former al-Assad regime, which was overthrown in December, was largely led by Alawite minority members.

Around 6, 000 regional electoral colleges selected candidates from preapproved lists for Sunday’s vote, a nearly two-thirds of the new 210-seat body’s members. The final three will be chosen in the future by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Authorities delayed the vote in areas that were not under the control of the government, including the Druze-held province of Suwayda and parts of the north and northeast of Syria, where the Kurdish-held regions are located. 21 seats were left empty as a result of those suspensions.

AFP-cited Najmeh as saying that the state was “serious” about having “supplementary ballots” to fill the assembly’s seats.

Osama Bin Javaid, a journalist from Damascus, quoted Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid as saying, “The elections were not representative if you ask the Druze in the south or the Kurds in the north.

People in major cities like Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, and other parts of the nation are hopeful that this will be their first real election, they say.

By the end of the year, Syria’s Kurds and Damascus have reached an agreement to incorporate Kurdish-administered civil and military institutions into the state, but negotiations on implementing the agreement have stalled.

According to Najmeh, the implementation of the March 10 agreement was delayed by the lack of timetables for the elections in Raqqa and Hasakeh.

Najmeh opposed the idea of a quota-based system, saying that the president’s choice might “perhaps” make up for some “underrepresented components of Syrian society.”

Nour al-Jandali, a rights activist in the city of Homs in central Syria, quoted by AFP as saying that the new lawmakers “have a great responsibility.”