Syria holds first election after Assad govt collapse

Members of local committees in Syria have selected representatives to a transitional parliament

The first parliamentary elections since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government concluded in Syria on Sunday.

Between 7,000 and 8,000 people selected by the Central Electoral Commission of the Syrian Arab Republic have elected 140 members of parliament. The other 70 representatives out of the 210-member body are to be appointed by the interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The final list of names is due to be announced on Monday.

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According to Syrian officials, more than 1,500 candidates, including more than 200 women, ran for the assembly, which will have a renewable 30-month mandate.

The Kurdish-held northeast and Southern Syria’s Druze-majority Sweida province, which have suffered massacres of Alawites, Druze, and Christian minorities, were excluded from the process as they are outside Damascus’s control, and their 32 seats will remain empty.

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Under a temporary constitution announced in March, the incoming parliament will exercise legislative functions until a permanent constitution is adopted and new elections are held.

Al-Sharaa previously said it was impossible to organize direct elections now, as millions of Syrians fled abroad or have been internally displaced due to the war.

In May, US President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa and announced the lifting of sanctions, most of which had been imposed during the rule of Assad. Al-Sharaa has called Trump’s move “a historic and courageous decision, which alleviates the suffering of the people, contributes to their rebirth, and lays the foundations for stability in the region.”