Interim President Announces Final 70 Members of Syria’s New Parliament
Interim President Ahmed al‑Sharaa named the last 70 lawmakers to be sworn into Syria’s new 210‑seat People’s Assembly, paving the way for its first meeting next week. Fifteen of the appointees are women and thirteen were imprisoned during Bashar al‑Assad’s 13‑year rule. While the exact number of representatives from religious and ethnic minority groups remains unclear, the list signals a shift toward greater diversity.
In October, regional electoral colleges selected two‑thirds of the seat holders, but only six women and ten minority candidates secured seats. Al‑Sharaa said his appointments would address this imbalance and reinforce national unity by bringing “relatives of martyrs, survivors of detention, academics, experts, professionals and community leaders” with experience and integrity into the Assembly.
The president noted the new appointees hail from all 14 provinces, including two from Suweida—a predominantly Druze region whose elections have been delayed amid sectarian violence since July. When conditions allow, he pledged to conduct elections there “God willing.”
The delays also affect the northern provinces of Raqqa and Hassakeh, which fell under government control from the Syrian Democratic Forces early this year. More than 20 Kurdish parties rejected the May selections as “exclusionary,” while fourteen civil‑society groups complained of structural flaws in the electoral process.
UN deputy special envoy Claudio Cordone visited the Security Council, stressing that the new Assembly must be “meaningfully represented” and that the country’s ceasefire and reintegration plans must advance. He welcomed progress with the SDF, where four brigades now receive salaries and 1,300 detainees have been released, but cautioned that the roadmap for confidence‑building in Suweida remains stalled and that unresolved accountability issues risk eroding unity.
