Syrian voters vote in indirect opinion polls for the first parliament after Assad Election news

Syria is holding parliamentary elections for the first time since the governor’s overthrow for a long time, Bashar al -Assad, which is a historical moment in the fragile transition in the country after nearly 14 years of war.

The members of the electoral colleges in Syria met on Sunday to vote for the benefit of the new legislators in a process that was subjected to uncontrolled criticism, with a third of a member of 210 members of the people who were renewed by the interim leader, Ahmed Al -Sharra.

Recommended stories

List of 4 elementsThe end of the list

The remaining actors will not be voted directly by people, but it was instead by electoral colleges throughout the country.

Critics say the regime prefers the well -connected numbers and is likely to maintain the concentration of power in the hands of new rulers in Syria, rather than paving the way for real democratic change.

In a joint statement last month, more than ten non -governmental organizations said that the process means that Sharra “can effectively constitute a parliamentary majority consisting of individuals who chose or within their loyalty,” which may risk “undermining the principle of pluralism necessary for any real democratic process.”

“You can call the process what you like, but not the elections,” Basam Al -Ahed, Executive Director of Syrian Syrians in France for truth and justice, one of the organizations that signed the statement, told Agence France Agency to Agence France Agency for Agence France Agency.

Meanwhile, the elections were postponed in the circular circular province Due to tensions Between the local authorities and the central government in Damascus.

There are no campaigns, no parties

Osama bin Jafid of the island, where the reports of democratic palaces in Sunday elections were an important step for the Syrians towards obtaining representation in a form that could begin to face the important challenges of the country.

“There are no political campaigns, there are no political parties,” he said. “But people on the street feel that this is the first opportunity to complain about the real elections after nearly six decades of the Assad family’s rule.”

During the years of the Assad dynasty in power, the regular elections were held, but it was widely seen as a trick, and the Assad -led party was always dominating Parliament.

During a 30 -month period, the next parliament will be assigned to prepare the land to vote in the upcoming elections.

Bin Jafid said that Parliament will have to prove that “Syria can become a constitutional democracy and that the people who come to power will be responsible for those who vote in their favor.”

How will you work?

The People’s Association includes 210 seats, voted 140 seats by electoral colleges throughout the country, with the number of seats distributed to the population by the population. The remaining 70 representatives will be appointed directly by the Sharra.

A total of 7,000 members of the electoral college will vote in 60 provinces – they were chosen from a group of applicants in each region by the committees designated for this purpose – in favor of 140 seats.

However, the elections are postponed in Northeast, which is controlled by the Kurdish And the majority of the majority Southern Soyida ProvinceAnd that remains outside the control of Damascus, means that the seats there will remain empty.

All the candidates come from the ranks of the electoral colleges working as independents, as the current political parties have been resolved by the new authorities in Syria after the overthrow of Assad, and no alternative system has been created to register new parties.

Obstacles to popular vote

While a popular vote was criticized as a non -democratic, some analysts say the causes of the government are valid.

Shara said it would be impossible to organize direct elections now because of the large number of Syrians who lack the documents after millions fled abroad or have been displaced internally.

“We do not know even the number of Syrians in Syria today, because of the large number of displaced people,” said Benjamin Fif, a major research analyst at the Karam Shair Consulting Company, which focuses on Syria.

“It will be really difficult to draw electoral lists today in Syria.”

“He was more concerned about the lack of transparency, the voters were chosen according to it.

“Especially when it comes to choosing sub -committees and electoral colleges, there is no supervision, and the whole process is a kind of weakness for manipulation,” he said.

Critics also expressed their concerns about the representation of minorities and women in the new association, where only 14 percent of the candidates, Sawida and the northeast of the operation were excluded.

“The elections could be a new political start” after the fall of the Assad regime, but “the marginalization of the many regions indicates that the standards of political participation are not respected.”

At a meeting in Damascus this week, candidate Maysa Halwani said that the regime’s criticism was expected. She said: “The government is new in power and freedom is new to us.”