Election of Syrian People’s Assembly faces challenge of competence and representation demands ...Syria

Enab Baladi – Omar Alaa Eldin

Syrians continue to follow the details and aspects related to the Supreme Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, headed by Muhammad Taha al-Ahmad, regarding the process of electing members. This assembly holds significance in their memory, having once been a parliament detached from their reality that represented the interests of its members rather than the interests of the people, approving decisions desired by the ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

However, the new elections are not traditional, as they will not occur through popular participation, due to the absence of official documents, infrastructure, and displaced persons and refugees, alongside fears of the return of the tools of the previous Syrian regime—reasons described by the head of the Supreme Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, Muhammad Taha al-Ahmad, as “justifiable.”

The committee is working on preparing a draft of a temporary electoral system that guarantees “representation without exclusion and balances between competence and community representation,” in addition to defining the necessary conditions and criteria for members of the assembly and the electoral committee.

On June 14, the Syrian presidency announced that President Ahmed al-Sharaa had met with members of the Supreme Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, without further details. The day before, the decree No. “66” was issued, forming the Supreme Election Committee, which included:

The decree defined the number of People’s Assembly members, one-third of whom are appointed by the president, while the committee conducts elections to select the remaining two-thirds, totaling 150 members. These members are classified into the categories of notables and intellectuals, according to conditions approved by the supreme electoral committee, distributed across the provinces as follows: Aleppo 20 seats, Damascus 11 seats, rural Damascus 10 seats, Homs 9 seats, Hama 8 seats, Latakia 6 seats, Tartus 5 seats, Idlib 7 seats, Deir Ezzor 6 seats, al-Hasakah 6 seats, Raqqa 3 seats, As-Suwayda 3 seats, Quneitra 2 seats.

Conditions for nomination

The head of the supreme committee, Muhammad Taha al-Ahmad, announced in the first press conference held by the committee on June 18, the number of steps currently being worked on regarding the formation of the People’s Assembly.

The committee began its tours in Damascus and its countryside to discuss the electoral process with official bodies and local activists and dignitaries, and to determine the electoral committee and its specifications, with plans to continue the rest of the tours later.

According to what al-Ahmad stated, subcommittees will be formed in the provinces including representatives from different areas belonging to each province, tasked with electing members of the electoral committee, and consisting of between 30 to 50 members for each seat in the People’s Assembly.

Members of the People’s Assembly will come from within the electing bodies themselves, which will consist of two categories: the first for competencies, which will include 70% of the assembly members, while the remaining percentage will include dignitaries and notables.

Regarding the conditions for candidacy for the People’s Assembly elections, al-Ahmad mentioned in a televised interview with the state-run Alikhbaria channel on June 19, that they include being at least 25 years old to allow young people the opportunity to join the assembly.

Additionally, the candidate must, according to al-Ahmad, have a good reputation and conduct, not be convicted of a dishonorable crime (a condition related to honesty, integrity, and ethics), be fully competent, and not be restricted over their financial assets, alongside a group of other conditions that enable the candidate to be part of the electoral body, which al-Ahmad did not clarify.

A high-quality assembly

Al-Ahmad stated in his interview, “We aspire to reach a high-quality People’s Assembly because membership in the People’s Assembly is a duty and not an honor,” noting that there are significant burdens on this assembly, especially concerning amending laws and decisions that correspond to the aspirations of the Syrian people.

He added that through meetings with officials and ministers, it became clear that the greatest obstacle facing work within ministries are the existing laws that are still in effect, which urgently need change, development, and the establishment of new laws.

These issues, in addition to the absence of official documents and the actual population count in Syria, according to al-Ahmad, “drive us to follow this electoral process until we reach a technical and effective People’s Assembly that can bear the burdens placed upon it in the coming days.”

On June 15, the chair of the Supreme Committee for People’s Assembly Elections sent a letter to the head of the Bar Association in Syria, requesting to provide him with the names of three members from the Bar Association who specialize in administrative law, international law, and constitutional law to include them in the legal committee designated to accompany the committee’s work, ensuring the involvement of legal experts in supporting its efforts.

The Bar Association nominated, according to what it published on its Facebook page on June 17, a number of “specialists in administrative, international, and constitutional fields,” who are:

Across all Syrian territory

When the head of the Supreme Election Committee, Muhammad Taha al-Ahmad, was asked about the possibility of holding elections in areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), he stated that the committee hopes to conduct elections across all Syrian territory, including the Raqqa and al-Hasakah governorates.

He hopes that the committees will complete their negotiation works between the SDF and the Syrian government soon, so they can enter these areas and conduct elections.

If this becomes unfeasible (to hold elections in SDF-controlled areas), there will be invitations for dignitaries and notables in these provinces, followed by conducting elections in areas agreed upon with this segment of society.

Appointments by al-Sharaa

According to Article “24” of the constitutional declaration in Syria, “The President of the Republic appoints one-third of the members of the People’s Assembly to ensure fair representation and competence.”

In this regard, the head of the Supreme Election Committee, Muhammad Taha al-Ahmad, stated in his interview with Alikhbaria channel that “the president during the victory day (the victory conference on January 29) had the opportunity to appoint all members of the People’s Assembly, but in the constitutional declaration, there was another opinion that one-third is for the president and two-thirds for election.”

According to al-Ahmad, this one-third that will be appointed by al-Sharaa will fill the gaps that may arise in the elections, and he will focus on scientific and practical competencies that can be relied upon in reviewing plans and legislating new laws.

Demands for involvement of civil society

It is natural that the general criteria for elections do not apply to the current transitional phase, considering it a specific phase, as the head of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research, Anwar al-Bunni, told Enab Baladi.

He added that there is no infrastructure to conduct a genuine popular election in Syria, pointing out that the path taken by the Supreme Election Committee is “very acceptable” for forming the first Syrian parliament.

Al-Bunni mentioned in his conversation with Enab Baladi, that it is very natural that everything issued by this parliament elected currently is subject to cancellation, amendment, or confirmation in the parliament that will be elected popularly in the future.

Therefore, it is logical for the situation to be as such now, especially since there are displaced individuals from province to province, losing civil registration, and unrecorded deaths in the official registries.

In light of the absence of political work, parties, and political activism, it is understandable to allocate a proportion in the People’s Assembly for the notables, dignitaries, and community leaders “to whom Syrians have retreated forcibly during the past period due to the absence of national identity,” according to al-Bunni.

He stated that these notables would have a role in consolidating civil peace, and in addition, having competencies at 70% of the electing bodies is a significant matter. However, it is unknown how much the Supreme Election Committee relies on the civil society organizations that are actively present in the Syrian community, calling for these organizations to have a role in the electing bodies.

He believes that the step of forming electing bodies is good, fitting the exceptional phase that Syria is going through, to initiate the first step toward state-building.

Al-Bunni stated that the committee, based on what it has shown, is keen on representing everyone in Syria. However, if any segment is marginalized, the appointments approved by the President of the Republic play a role in restoring the lost balance that may occur through the electing committees.

Enab Baladi contacted the Supreme Committee for People’s Assembly Elections for information regarding the legal basis for the temporary internal system, its operations, and the other conditions concerning the selection of assembly members and committee members. Still, the committee limited its response to visual reports to avoid error and the sensitivity of the topic, as explained by the committee’s media coordinator.

Election of Syrian People’s Assembly faces challenge of competence and representation demands Enab Baladi.

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