Syria holds elections under tightened security
Tehran - BORNA - The elections to be held on Sunday, however, will not be a fully democratic process either. Rather, most of the People’s Assembly seats will be voted on by electoral colleges in each district, while one-third of the seats will be directly appointed by interim ruler Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Despite not being a popular vote, the election results will likely be taken as a barometer of how serious the interim authorities are about inclusivity, particularly of women and minorities.
The People’s Assembly has 210 seats, of which two-thirds will be elected on Sunday and one-third appointed. The elected seats are voted upon by electoral colleges in districts throughout the country, with the number of seats for each district distributed by population.
In theory, a total of 7,000 electoral college members in 60 districts — chosen from a pool of applicants in each district by committees appointed for the purpose — should vote for 140 seats.
However, the elections in Sweida province and in areas of the northeast controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been indefinitely postponed due to tensions between the local authorities in those areas and the central government in Damascus, meaning that those seats will remain empty.
The parliamentary elections in Syria are being held amid a heavy security presence across major cities, including Damascus, Daraa, Hama, and Latakia.
Following the rise of the new ruling regime, the elections have been described as a replica of certain Arab governments’ systems—an exercise conducted under the guise of democracy, but without genuine representation of the Syrian people in parliament.
The process has also been marked by widespread restrictions on candidacy, as well as intense security, media, and social pressure aimed at ensuring victory for specific political groups. In addition, unusual regulations have been introduced governing the electoral process, further calling its transparency and legitimacy into question.
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