Syria is expected to hold its first parliamentary election under the new government in September, the head of the electoral process said.
Voting for the People’s Assembly should take place from September 15 to 20, the head of Syria’s High Elections Committee Mohamed Taha Al Ahmad said.
President Ahmad Al Shara “emphasised the necessity of proceeding with the electoral process in all Syrian governorates, rejecting division, which is denounced by all Syrians”, he said.
All those who “sided with the criminals and supported them” and individuals “who advocate for division, sectarianism and factionalism” will be excluded from running in the vote.
He added that the number of parliamentary seats will increase from 150 to 210, with the president appointing 70 members.
This decision is likely to come under intense scrutiny following Mr Al Shara’s decision to appoint two brothers, Maher and Hazem, to senior government positions.
Mr Ahmad said the international community and independent election monitors will be invited to oversee the poll.
“It’s a good step and starting to bring more people into the circle of decision-making. Whether it’s going to be a fair representation of the wide variety of opinions that are represented in the Syrian electorate, is a different thing,” Randa Slim, non-resident senior fellow, SAIS foreign policy Institute, told The National.
“Because the process by which these candidates for the elections are going to be chosen, is a process that’s going to be very much controlled by Mr Al Shara and [Foreign Minister Asaad] Shibani … And that increases the concern … of a process that screens candidates for their opinions. And that will reinforce the hold on power by Mr Al Shara,” said Ms Slim.
The vote will be the first after the fall of Bashar Al Assad’s regime. Mr Al Shara, who led a former Al Qaeda offshoot, came to power in Syria after guerrilla fighters he led brought down Mr Al Assad in December, after more than 13 years of civil war.
The announcement came as the country was gripped by a series of violent incidents in recent weeks.
A Syrian committee investigating sectarian violence in the Alawite heartland said on Tuesday it had identified 298 suspects implicated in serious violations during bloodshed that left at least 1,426 members of the religious minority dead in March.
The findings come after violence involving the country’s Druze community, raising further questions over the new government’s ability to manage sectarian tensions.