In a historic moment in the country’s tense transition following nearly 14 years of war, Syria is holding parliamentary elections for the first time since Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow.
A third of the 210 people appointed by the revamped People’s Assembly were chosen by interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was one of the electoral colleges in Syria’s electoral college on Sunday to vote for the new lawmakers.
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The electorate will select the remaining representatives from electoral colleges all over the nation rather than directly by the electorate.
Critics claim that the system favors well-connected individuals and will likely lead to a more concentrated concentration of power under Syria’s new rulers than to facilitating genuine democratic change.
More than a dozen non-governmental organizations said in a joint statement last month that the process would allow al-Sharaa to “effectively shape a parliamentary majority composed of individuals he selected or ensured loyalty from” and risked “undermining the principle of pluralism essential to any genuine democratic process.”
One of the organizations that signed the statement, Bassam Alahmad, the executive director of France-based Syrians for Truth and Justice, told the AFP news agency, “You can call the process anything you want, but not elections.”
In addition, tensions between local authorities and Damascus’ central government have forced indefinite delays to elections in the province of Suwayda, a region with a moderate Druze majority, and in northeastern regions controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
No political parties or campaigns.
Osama Bin Javaid, a journalist from Damascus, claimed that the new assembly’s vote would take place under “a hybrid model” of a selection and an election.
He claimed that despite the election results’ democratic flaws, they were a significant step forward for Syrians in terms of having a voice in a body that could address the country’s pressing issues.
He claimed that there are no political parties and campaigns.
Bin Javaid told the Syrians he had spoken to that because of the destruction caused by 14 years of conflict, they “realize that this is not a general election” and “are aware that Syria cannot hold a general election.”
After nearly six decades of the Assad family’s rule, he continued, “People on the street believe this is their first chance to get a real taste of an election.”
Regular elections were held during the al-Assad dynasty’s rule, but they were widely viewed as fake and the al-Assad-led Baath party had always held control of the parliament.
The incoming parliament will be given the task of setting up the ground for a popular vote in the upcoming elections during its 30-month term.
Bin Javaid claimed that the parliament would need to demonstrate that “Syria can become a constitutional democracy and the electorates will be accountable to those who support them.”
What will happen?
There are 210 seats in the People’s Assembly, with 140 of those seats being voted on by electoral colleges nationwide, according to population distribution for each district. The remaining 70 deputies will be chosen by al-Sharaa in person.
The 140 seats will be cast in 60 districts by committees appointed for the purpose, with a total of 7, 000 electoral college members in each district.
Seats will remain empty in the Kurdish-dominated northeast and Druze-majority southern province of Suwayda, which are still under Damascus’ control, due to the delay in the elections.
Since existing political parties were disbanded by Syria’s new authorities following al-Assad’s ouster, and there hasn’t been a system to create new parties, all candidates are from the electoral colleges and are running as independents.
Popular vote obstacles
Some experts believe the government’s arguments are valid despite the criticism that the lack of a popular vote is undemocratic.
Al-Sharaa claimed that due to the large number of Syrians who lack documentation after millions of people have fled abroad or have been internally displaced, direct elections will no longer be possible.
Because of the large number of displaced people, “we don’t even know how many Syrians are in Syria right now,” according to Benjamin Feve, a senior research analyst at the consulting firm Karam Shaar Advisory in Syria.
“Syria’s electoral lists would be incredibly challenging to draw right now,” said one candidate.
The Arab Reform Initiative and Chatham House think tank’s senior research fellow, Haid Haid, told AP that the electoral process was not transparent.
There is no oversight, he said, and the selection process is “kind of potentially vulnerable to manipulation,” especially when it comes to selecting the subcommittees and the electoral colleges.
With only 14% of the candidates women and Suwayda and the northeast being excluded from the process, critics have also expressed concerns about the representation of minorities and women in the new assembly.
After the fall of the al-Assad regime, “elections could have been a new political start,” according to 40-year-old teacher Nishan Ismail, who works in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, but “the marginalization of numerous regions shows that the standards of political participation are not respected.”
Candidate Mayssa Halwani stated at a meeting in Damascus this week that the system criticism was expected. She said, “The government is new to power and freedom is new for us.”
Bin Javaid, a journalist for Al Jazeera, predicted that the incoming parliament would face significant difficulties in a nation that is still trying to rebuild itself from scratch and dismantle the al-Assad regime’s mechanisms.
Among them are the need to represent different groups in the country’s diverse population, the country’s economy, which is struggling despite the lifting of international sanctions, security issues, Syrian territory being under the control of Kurdish forces, Druze fighters, and Israel, and the need for representation.
Source: Aljazeera
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