Syria forms first post-Assad parliament to kickstart new era of 'managed democracy'

Syria’s Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections on Wednesday announced the names of the members of the new People’s Assembly. This is the new parliament of Syria, and it has been a year in the making.

Syria has created a relatively complex system for appointing new members of this assembly. This will be the first assembly or parliament since the fall of the Assad regime. It is taking shape as Syria is led by a transitional government of Ahmed al-Shara’a.

It’s worth noting that while Syria has had local “voting” for the Assembly, the number of voters was low because they were basically chosen as “electors” for the new parliament.

“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,” Syria’s state media noted.

The new parliament has 140 elected seats and 70 appointed by the president.

“Al-Ahmad said the list of presidential appointees, which includes 70 members and constitutes one-third of the People’s Assembly’s membership, reflects recognition of the sacrifices made by Syrians and comprises relatives of martyrs, survivors of detention, survivors of chemical attacks, as well as academics, experts, professionals, community leaders and national figures known for their experience, integrity and public service,” SANA noted.

As such, the parliament is relatively diverse, with both local figures and selected representatives. The reason for having so many appointments is that it is seen as a way to bring different professions into parliament and to ensure greater representation of women.

Critics have complained that the overall representation of women and minorities is less than their numbers in the population. “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. Overall, there are 22 women out of the 210 seats.

Syrian state media noted that the appointees include “23 community leaders and 47 professionals, including 12 members with master’s degrees and 17 with doctoral degrees.”

In addition, the new appointments come from all across Syria, with “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.”

This is important because it means Syria is trying to ensure that the parliament is representative and diverse at several levels. Diversity is not just about having minorities, for instance.

It also is about having rural and urban representation, as well as different types of people. Even among the minorities, there are major differences. For instance, among Kurds, it appears many of the Kurds who will now serve in parliament are linked to the Kurdish KNC party.

This is in contrast to what was happening in the Kurdish-led AANES in eastern Syria. That area was run by the Syrian Democratic Forces and their political arm, which essentially operated as a one-party state. The KNC was sidelined up until now.

The KNC is generally seen as a more centrist Kurdish group with ties to the KDP, the Kurdish party in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

The SDF’s political wing was far-left, by contrast.

Syria has taken a major step in choosing the new parliament. It comes more than a year and a half after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

Since then, Syria has faced many internal challenges. First of all, it has faced a movement by Druze in Suwayda to create their own autonomous region and basically secede from the country, unless there is a deal. The government also had to come to terms with the SDF.

This finally happened in March 2025, but it took until January and involved some clashes for the central government to deploy in eastern Syria. The government also has had to deal with continued Hezbollah smuggling and threats from Assad regime backers, as well as get Turkey to withdraw from northern Syria.

In addition, Israel bombed Syria numerous times, claiming to support the Druze. This led to US pressure on Israel to stop the bombing. Nevertheless, Israeli raids continue in southern Syria near the Golan.

The challenge for Syria is now complex. It needs to see how its new parliament will function. Many countries that go through revolution and civil war, as happened in Syria, find it hard to move on quickly to democracy. In some cases it has worked, such as in the US.

However, it took time for the US to develop its current federal system. In addition, it took more than a century for the US to enable rights and voting for African-Americans and women. Any critique of Syria should acknowledge how long it took elsewhere.

In post-war Japan and Germany, for instance, it also took time to establish a new democratic parliament. Syria wants to have a form of managed democracy. It remains to be seen whether it will transition to full democracy. Most countries in the region have stepped back from democracy, viewing it as too chaotic.

That being said, Iraq has a functioning democracy. Israel also does, although not within the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority has not had real elections since 2006. Other countries have seen democratic backsliding and a rise of authoritarian rule.

Turkey is an example of rising authoritarianism. Syria will need to find a way forward that is likely a middle path between what happens in Iraq and what goes on in Turkey, the two examples of Muslim countries that are also democracies in the region.

US Representative Joe Wilson wrote on Twitter/X that “the changes in Syria improve the security situation for Israel phenomenally. Rather than being a land bridge to Hezbollah, Syria now actively shuts down Hezbollah routes and networks in the country. The IRGC has totally withdrawn from Syria.

"ISIS cells are being decimated by Syrian forces in cooperation with the United States. Under the new government, Syria has not launched a single attack against Israel and pledges to never allow Syrian land to be used against its neighbors.”

He added that “In my talks with President AlSharaa and the Syrian leadership, I have been deeply impressed by their foresight and openness to seeking good and respectful relations with Israel.