Syria has announced results from its first parliamentary election since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, with most new People’s Assembly members being Sunni men. Only 4% of the 119 elected seats went to women, and just two Christians were elected, raising concerns about representation and fairness.
Syrian-American Henry Hamra, the first Jewish candidate since the 1940s, was not selected.
Critics say the indirect voting system—used under the excuse of unreliable post-war population data—favors elite, preapproved candidates and limits real democratic progress.
Al-Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid said, “If you ask the Druze in the south or the Kurds in the north, they say [the elections] were not representative.
Roughly 6,000 regional delegates selected two-thirds of the 210-seat assembly on Sunday; interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa—formerly an Al-Qaeda operative, then under the name Abu Mohammed al-Jolani—will appoint the remaining third.
Under a temporary constitution announced in March, the incoming parliament will exercise legislative functions until a permanent constitution is adopted and new elections are held.
