2024 Syrian parliamentary election

← 2020 15 July 2024

All 250 seats in the People's Assembly 126 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Current seats Ba'ath Party Bashar al-Assad 167 ASU Baria al-Qudsi 3 Communist (Bakdash) Ammar Bakdash 3 SSNP Rabie Banat 3 National Covenant Ghassan Othman 2 Socialist Unionist Fayiz Ismail 2 ADUP Iyad Ghassan Osman 1 DSUP Fadlallah Nasreddin 1 Communist (Unified) Najmuddin al-Kharit 1 Independents – 67

Parliamentary elections were held in Syria on 15 July 2024. The date was set by a decree issued by president Bashar al-Assad on 11 May 2024.^[1] 250 members will be elected to serve a four-year legislative term.^[1]

Background

The 250-member People's Assembly has been little more than a rubber stamp for the ruling Ba'athists since they came to power in the 1963 coup.^[2][3][4] Two-thirds of the seats in the assembly are reserved for the Ba'athists and their allies in the National Progressive Front meaning it is impossible for the Ba'athists to lose an election.^[3] However, since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, elections to the Assembly have been seen as a "barometer of influence among the ruling elite" namely due to the rise in non-Alawite members that represent various new groups and militias which have helped prop-up the Ba'athist regime.^[3] As such, Assad instructed the security apparatus of Syria to not intervene in Ba'athist primaries, to inject new "flavor" to revitalize the party.^[3][2]

The government is also granting reforms as part of a rehabilitation effort with rebels that surrendered in Daraa, which the newly elected assembly will draft.^[5] In 2018 rebels in Daraa agreed to surrender following a government offensive. However, anti-government sentiment remained strong in the region as protestors in Suwayda called for a boycott of the elections.^[6][5]

The pressing issues of the election is the government's poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the flight or fatigue of the countries doctors.^[7] Additionally the Syrian pound reached new lows against the US dollar, resulting in food and fuel inflation.^[7] The government has also canceled subsidies while doubling public sector and pension wages.^[7] Assad meanwhile is focusing on parliament being a "national dialogue" for domestic issues to be resolved, and for calling for rehabilitation of relations with Turkey to withdraw from their occupied territories.^[7]

Electoral system

Candidate submissions were accepted between 20 and 26 May.^[8] On 29 May the Supreme Judicial Committee for Elections announced that 11,897 people had applied to run for the People's Council, of whom 9,194 were approved to run.^[9] Candidates were allowed to contest seats in rebel-held areas, although only voters living in government-held areas were allowed to vote.^[10] The government set up 8,150 polling stations for the election.^[11]

Voting was not held in rebel-occupied northeast and northwest Syria. Additionally, Syrians abroad were not allowed to participate in the election.^[7]

Conduct

Polling stations opened at 07:00, and were supposed to close at 21:00^[12] but were extended by two hours by the Higher Judicial Committee.^[13]

Incidents

Several polling stations were attacked by demonstrators who also destroyed ballot boxes while chanting anti-Assad slogans in As-Suwayda Governorate. One protester was injured after being shot by security forces.^[10]

Elections held in Aleppo and its countryside were canceled and had to be repeated due to violations relating to some voters voting more than once.^[14]

Results

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Reactions

Overseas opposition groups in exile described the election as "absurd", saying that it only represented "the ruling authority".^[10]

The German ambassador to Syria stated that Germany does not support holding elections in Syria at the moment, explaining that free and fair elections are an integral part of resolving the conflict and establishing peace in Syria, but the conditions were not yet ready and that holding the election at this time would entrench the status quo of conflict and division. Germany also reiterated its support of the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254.^[15]

References