Damascus, Syria (AP) — Syria held parliamentary elections on Sunday. This comes almost a year after Bashar Assad, the rebel-led, offensive, dictatorial leader.
The National Assembly will be tasked with passing new election laws and constitutions as the country moves through the post-Assad political transition after more than a decade of civil war.
All over the country, security forces were deployed at polling stations. Inside, members of the electoral college entered the voting booth, filled out a list of names on the ballot, then placed in a sealed box until they were withdrawn and counted before candidates, journalists and observers of the Syrian Bar Association.
There was no direct public vote in this election. Two-thirds of the 210-member seats will be elected through state-based electoral universities, with seats distributed by population, and a third will be appointed directly by interim president Ahmed Alsharaa. The new Congress will serve a 30-month term in preparation for future elections.
Theoretically, 7,000 electoral college members from 60 districts are eligible to vote for 140 seats, but the election was postponed indefinitely in areas managed by Kurdish-led Syrian democratic forces due to tensions between Sweida and local governments and Damascus.
After being explained about the election process at the National Library Centre where the vote was held in Damascus, Arshala said, “There are many pending laws that require you to vote to proceed with the building and prosperity process.”
“Building Syria is a collective mission and all Syrians must contribute to it,” Shara added.
Damascus candidates and voters will be responsible for the first transition election
Critics argue that elections do not fall short of a complete democracy, and point out that the electoral university system could support candidates tied to integrate power within the interim government. But for others, elections were a sign of progress.
In Damascus, 490 candidates competed for 10 seats, and 500 voters were found at the voting university.
When she approached her from election officials to join the voting college, Damascus doctor Lina Dabor said she refused first, fearing the “ugly image” of past meetings. However, after learning that she is part of a voting agency, she calls it a “country duty” and agrees.
She took her role seriously.
“I studied the profiles of many candidates and attended meetings. There they didn’t stop. I called people to ask about the candidates, their history and what others thought,” she said.
On Election Day, she said, “This is the first time I’ve voted in my life. I’m happy and don’t mind being in line for so long.”
Participants emphasize greater freedom compared to elections under Assad
Interim officials say public votes are now impossible due to citizen movement and the loss of documents.
Lala Ezuki, a member of Damascus’ National Election Commission, said the new parliament includes all denominations and groups, “for the first time in Syrian history that the ballot box truly controls – when the results are not expressed in advance.”
Comparing the election under Assad with today’s election, lawyer Lim Yazizi is a member of the election body of Damascus and a candidate for the People’s Assembly, “It is enough to mention the freedom factors, the election statements and the debates we saw and participated in.
At the Alnaslu Amphitheater in Aleppo, 220 candidates competed for 14 seats, and the electoral university had 700 voters.
“This is the first time in our lives that we have participated in a democratic election process without external pressure,” said Ibrahim Harabi, 33, of Aleppo, a former soldier under Assad’s control, in 2012, after a massive government protest was met with brutal crackdowns.
Sunni candidates win in Latakia amidst lingering tension
Three Sunni candidates have won the votes in Latakia, a former Assad base and home to the Alawite community.
“All those who said the situation in Latakia was good (previously),” said Lola Daya, one of the newly elected lawmakers. “Of course, internal tensions remain. It takes time to resolve. Transitional justice is needed, so we can move towards citizen peace.”
In March 2025, a sectarian revenge attack led to the killing of hundreds of Alawian civilians along Syrian Mediterranean coasts in Latakia and Tartus after an armed group belonging to Assad attacked the new government’s security forces.
Daya said she played a logistical role in the Syrian uprising and urged her to stay in Syria until her identity was found and fled.
She said she felt that after winning, “the weight of responsibility would be even greater.”
“We need to work to devise laws and laws that serve our society and our people,” she said.
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Abou Aljoud was reported by Beirut. Associated Press reporters were contributed by Abby Sewell of Latakia and Omar Albam of Aleppo.
