Syria shares results of first parliamentary poll amid inclusivity concerns

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Election marks landmark infinitesimal successful country’s post-war transition, but ballot is postponed successful Druze and Kurdish areas.

Syria has published the results of its archetypal parliamentary election since the authorities of erstwhile President Bashar al-Assad was toppled, revealing that astir caller members of the revamped People’s Assembly are Sunni and male.

Electoral committee spokesperson Nawar Najmeh told a property league connected Monday that lone 4 percent of the 119 members selected successful the indirect ballot were women and lone 2 Christians were among the winners, sparking concerns astir inclusivity and fairness.

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The election represents a landmark infinitesimal successful the country’s fragile modulation aft astir 14 years of war, but critics accidental it favours well-connected figures and is apt to support powerfulness concentrated successful the hands of Syria’s caller rulers, alternatively than paving the mode for genuine antiauthoritarian change.

News bureau AFP cited Najmeh arsenic saying that the fig of women successful the parliament was “not proportionate to the presumption of women successful Syrian nine and their relation successful political, economical and societal life”.

He called the practice of Christians “weak, considering the proportionality of Christians successful Syria”.

The authorities resorted to an indirect voting strategy alternatively than cosmopolitan suffrage, alluding to a deficiency of reliable colonisation information pursuing the war, which killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians and displaced millions.

Sunday’s ballot saw astir 6,000 members of determination electoral colleges take candidates from preapproved lists, portion of a process to nutrient astir two-thirds of the caller 210-seat body. President Ahmed al-Sharaa volition aboriginal prime the remaining third.

Citing information and governmental reasons, authorities postponed the ballot successful areas extracurricular authorities control, including Kurdish-held parts of Syria’s northbound and northeast, arsenic good arsenic the state of Suwayda, held by the Druze minority. Those suspensions near 21 seats empty.

Najmeh was cited by quality bureau AFP arsenic saying the authorities was “serious” astir having “supplementary ballots” to capable the assembly’s seats.

Reporting from Damascus, Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid said: “If you inquire the Druze successful the southbound oregon the Kurds successful the north, they accidental [the elections] were not representative.

“If you inquire radical successful large cities, similar Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, and different parts of the country, they’re hopeful that this is the archetypal sensation of a existent election.”

On March 10, Syria’s Kurds and Damascus agreed to integrate Kurdish-administered civilian and subject institutions successful the country’s northeast into the authorities by the year’s end, but negotiations connected implementing the woody person stalled.

Delays successful implementing the March 10 statement meant determination were nary timetables arsenic yet for ballots successful Raqqa and Hasakeh, according to Najmeh.

Najmeh said that the president’s prime would possibly “compensate” for immoderate underrepresented components of Syrian society, but helium rejected the thought of a quota-based system.

Political and rights activistic Nour al-Jandali, who was selected for a spot successful cardinal Syria’s metropolis of Homs, was quoted by AFP arsenic saying the caller lawmakers “have a large responsibility”.

She noted challenges the caller legislature faces, including “how we re-establish a authorities built connected freedom, citizenship and justice”, adding that “women indispensable person a existent and progressive role” successful drafting nationalist policy.