Syrian President Sharaa Finalizes Country's First Post-Assad Parliament

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa finalized the formation of the nation’s first post-Assad legislature on Wednesday.

The move completes a contentious selection process for the 210-seat transitional body, which is scheduled to convene next Monday.

The upcoming session marks a critical phase in Damascus's five-year transitional roadmap.

It follows the December 2024 collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the subsequent dissolution of his rubber-stamp parliament.

Operating under a renewable two-and-a-half-year mandate, the new assembly will immediately form a committee to draft a replacement constitution.

Executive Appointments

Sharaa utilized a presidential decree to appoint the final 70 members, securing one-third of the parliamentary seats.

The remaining 140 lawmakers were chosen via local committees appointed by a Sharaa-approved electoral commission.

Electoral committee head Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad announced the presidential selections. The bloc includes 15 women, academics, and relatives of civil war casualties.

Sharaa also integrated 13 individuals formerly imprisoned by the Assad regime. This roster features prominent figures such as Hassan Soufan, the former commander of the Ahrar al-Sham faction.

Exiled opposition leader Anas al-Abdah and Assyrian Christian dissident Gabriel Mushi Gowriyeh also received presidential appointments.

Activist Aisha al-Dibs, head of the government's women's affairs office, joins them alongside actress Rozina Lazkani.

Regional Friction

The broader selection mechanism, initiated in October 2025, has faced significant resistance.

Local committee voting in the Kurdish-dominated north only proceeded this year following a Damascus integration deal, prompting leading Kurdish factions to reject the results.

The southern Druze-majority province of Sweida remains entirely unrepresented in the locally selected tier. Electoral operations there were suspended following sectarian clashes last July that killed 1,760 people.

Sharaa attempted to bridge this gap by unilaterally appointing Laith al-Balous, a Druze armed faction commander. However, Balous faces opposition from Sweida’s de facto local authorities.

Transitional Tests

International rights organizations have criticized the assembly's formation, citing severe deficits in minority representation and the heavy concentration of authority in Sharaa’s executive office.

The president maintains that the current parliamentary framework is a temporary mechanism intended to remain in place until direct nationwide elections become viable.

Political researcher Maher Tamran characterized the parliament's completion as a shift toward institutional reconstruction.

He noted that the impending session will test whether the assembly can genuinely exercise legislative oversight rather than simply manage the post-war crisis.