DAMASCUS, Syria — The first Parliament in Syria’s post-Assad era took shape Wednesday with the announcement of 70 legislators selected by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa to join the 140 chosen in elections over the past eight months.
The 210-member Parliament will hold its first meeting on Monday when the members will be sworn in, the head of Syria’s electoral committee, Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, told reporters.
The launch of the Parliament indicates that the country is moving ahead with drafting new laws as it recovers from decades of autocratic rule under the Assad family and a deadly war that killed about half a million people.
The 70 legislators picked by al-Sharaa included 15 women, which raised the number of female members in the legislature to 22.
Syria held the first phase of its parliamentary elections in October while excluding the southern province of Sweida, which is controlled by Druze gunmen opposed to the central government. The vote at the time also excluded northeast Syria, which was under Kurdish control.
A vote in northeast Syria was held in May after government forces took control of the area during deadly clashes early this year. No date has been set yet for a vote in Sweida, but two representatives for the predominantly Druze region were among the names released by al-Sharaa on Wednesday.
The Parliament will have a 30-month term and work on a new elections law to prepare for the next election, according to al-Ahmad.
Syria has been without a Parliament since the December 2024 offensive by insurgents led by al-Sharaa’s now defunct Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which ended the Assad family’s five-decade dynasty.
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