On July 1, Syria’s government said that the country’s Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections had announced the final list of names for the country’s new parliament. The parliament, called the People’s Assembly, includes 140 members who were chosen over the last year and 70 presidential appointees announced on July 1. Meanwhile, Israel-Syria tensions continued after an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raid on a village near the border on June 30.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) released data on the new appointees to the parliament. “According to the figures, women account for 15 of the 70 members appointed by the President of the Republic, representing 21.4% of the presidential appointees,” SANA noted. “The Secretary-General of the People’s Assembly said the final one-third of the Assembly’s membership comprises 23 community leaders and 47 professionals, including 12 members with master’s degrees and 17 with doctoral degrees.” The People’s Assembly is expected to convene for the first time on July 6.
Syria chose 140 of the new parliament’s members in a complex process that included appointing a small number of electors in regions throughout Syria’s provinces and then having them elect the members. The 70 members named on July 1 were chosen by the president and include an actress, as well as members of Syria’s minority Druze and Kurdish populations. The appointees also come from the country’s 14 provinces, including “14 from Aleppo, seven from Hasakah, six each from Homs and Deir Ezzor, five each from Damascus, Damascus Countryside, Hama and Idlib, four each from Daraa and Latakia, three from Raqqa, and two each from Quneitra, Tartous and Sweida,” SANA reported.
Syria’s government has sought to emphasize that the appointments reflect the country’s diversity. “Speaking at a press conference in Damascus, Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, said the composition of the Assembly is intended to strengthen national representation and enrich parliamentary work through a combination of diverse expertise and professional experience,” SANA noted. However, minority groups have expressed concern about a lack of representation. The Kurdish Rudaw Media Network said that there were few Kurds among the final appointments.
The Kurdish representatives chosen by the president include two allies of Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa and a member of the Kurdish National Council. “The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) did not officially take part in the May vote but reportedly backed some independent candidates. Sharaa’s list does not include any SDF-affiliated figures,” Rudaw reported. The report also noted that the Druze area of Suwayda in southern Syria has not taken part in the election process because it is controlled by a Druze group that opposes rule by Damascus. Among the Druze chosen by Sharaa is Laith al Balous, who is seen as pro-government.
While Damascus was preparing the final list of parliament members, there were clashes near the Israeli border. “As Israeli troops and vehicles entered the town of Abdin in southern Syria, residents blocked the roads with rocks, and some young men and boys threw stones to push back the military patrol,” the Associated Press reported on June 30. This is the latest in a number of small clashes and incidents near the 1974 ceasefire line on the Golan that separates Syrian and Israeli forces.
In addition to the incident in Abdin, North Press Agency in Syria reported on July 2 that the IDF shelled areas in Daraa and Quneitra near the border in southern Syria. On June 28, the Israeli military said that it had eliminated several armed terrorists in a clash in Syria, without providing further details about the incident. In general, the IDF has not commented on operations in Syria over the last months, but Syrian media often reports on small incidents near the border.
Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).
Tags: IDF, Israel Syria, SDF, Syria
