Parliamentary elections are going to be held in Syria on Sunday. This is a historic moment for the country, because this is happening for the first time after former President Bashar al-Assad’s withdrawal from power. Asad rule fell in the rapid attack of the rebels on 2024 December, causing the end of the dictatorship of the five decades of Asad family in the country. Right now the command of the interim government is in the hands of Ahmed Al Shara.
This election is being considered an important step towards democratic change in Syria. However, it will not be a direct voting but indirect election, in which the public will not vote directly. But still many Syrian citizens do not know that such elections are being held in their country.
How were elections in Syria
For the last 50 years, elections in Syria have been held regularly under the rule of the Assad family, but they were just a show for the public. Asad -led bath party always dominated Parliament and the results were considered to be fixed in advance. The real competition was inside the party before the election, when members tried to bring up their names in the list.
The public is not only news, but tomorrow is voting
Interestingly, there is no election atmosphere on the streets of the capital Damascus. Till Saturday, neither the posters of the candidates were installed on the main roads and fours of the city, nor a public meeting or publicity rally. Many citizens did not even know that elections were going to be held in the country the next day. Because they do not know that tomorrow they will get votes.
What is the plea for not conducting general elections?
The interim government of Syria says that it has adopted this system rather than universal suffrage because the exact figure of the country’s population is not available due to war and displacement. Millions of Syrian citizens have become homeless from their homes, so that the direct referendum was not possible.
There are some hopes from this time election?
However, this time elections also cannot be called completely democratic. Most of the seats of People’s assembly of the country will be voted through district-level electoral colleges, while about one-third seats will be appointed directly by interim President Ahmed Al-Shra.
People’s Assembly (Parliament): There will be a total of 210 seats in the country’s Parliament.
Election Structure: Two-thirds of these (about 140 seats) will be selected, while one-third (about 70 seats) will be appointed directly by the interim President.
Electoral College System: Electoral colleges will vote in different districts of the country for selected seats.
About 6,000 members will vote in 50 districts across the country. Representatives will be selected in about 120 seats through these colleges. The number of seats to be given to every district has been decided on the basis of the population there. This Parliament selected will work for 30 months (two and a half years)
What is worry about the election process?
Political observers say that this election process is not completely democratic, because the general public will not get a chance to vote directly. In most seats, voting will be done by electoral colleges and the remaining seats will be appointed directly. Due to this, questions are being raised about the transparency of the election and the real participation of the public.
