Al Shara approves temporary electoral law ahead of Syrian parliament vote

Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara on Wednesday approved a temporary electoral law before the first parliamentary election to be held since the ousting of the former regime.

Syria was expected to hold the vote between September 15 and 20, according to the election committee but no exact date had been provided. Sources told The National on Thursday that the parliamentary election had been postponed indefinitely due to external pressure and the new authorities' lack of control over the entire country.

“They have realised that they are technically capable of holding any real elections,” a senior diplomat who was in Damascus this week said. “Pressure is also growing on them to open the system.” The National could not independently verify the claim.

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The decree issued by Mr Al Shara outlines the conditions of the electoral process, the requirements for membership in parliament and the criteria for being part of the electoral committees. It also set the number of parliament members at 210, with two thirds chosen by electoral bodies and the remaining third by the President. This marks an increase from 150 members.

The head of Syria's High Elections Committee, Mohamed Al Ahmad, said the constituencies in the country had been divided into 62 districts and that proposals for membership of the electoral bodies in the newly-divided districts will begin on Thursday.

Voting for the People's Assembly should take place from September 15 to 20, Mr Al Ahmad said last month when the vote was first announced.

At the time, Mr Al Shara stressed the need of “proceeding with the electoral process in all Syrian governorates, rejecting division, which is denounced by all Syrians”.

The decision to appoint 70 members will come under intense scrutiny following Mr Al Shara's decision to appoint two of his brothers, Maher and Hazem, to senior government positions.

The vote will be the first since 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 planning for the first election under the new authorities comes after several waves of sectarian violence in Alawite and Druze areas of the country, and amid concerns of fighting in the Kurdish-held region.