Few women lawmakers elected in Syria’s first parliamentary election since ousting of Bashar al-Assad

By Eyad Kourdi, Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN

(CNN) — Just seven women have been elected in Syria’s first elections since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, in an indirect parliamentary election marred by concerns about representation of minorities and the government’s tolerance for full democracy.

Authorities set a 20% target for women’s representation among electoral bodies as a way to ensure that women would have a say in the new government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former jihadist.

But in several large districts including Aleppo , the capital Damascus and its countryside, as well as Daraa and Idlib, no female winners were reported in early counts on Monday among the 119 declared winners.

Fewer than 10,000 people in the country of almost 25 million voted as members of handpicked electoral colleges on behalf of their regions.

Under the transitional rules – which came after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad last year, two-thirds of lawmakers in the 210-seat legislature are elected by the local electoral bodies and one-third are appointed by the president.

One of the parliament’s key tasks will be to draft a new constitution for the country and prepare for direct public elections in the next term.

With such a small fraction of the female quota filled, expectations are growing that the president’s appointed third may be used to raise the overall share of female lawmakers.

“Few women have been elected, which means that Sharaa may feel obliged to appoint a number of women among the 70 parliamentary members that he selects directly. Damascus and Aleppo have yet to announce their winners,” Syria watcher Joshua Landis said on X.

Voting was restricted to a small group of people

The election marks the first of their kind since al-Sharaa assumed power.

Once known by his jihadist nom-de-guerre Ahmad al-Jolani, Sharaa came to power after Assad was ousted in a bloody opposition fight that overthrew his regime in December. Sharaa once headed Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) – a group that was formed out of a former al Qaeda affiliate – but has since promised reform and to include other factions into government.

Sundays’ vote was an indirect one –not one of universal suffrage – meaning, only a handful of people were allowed to cast their ballots. Around 6,000 to 7,000 voters were all chosen by Sharaa’s government.

The vote is not representative considering its population, with the number of voters raising concerns about Syria’s ability to democratically transition under al-Sharaa’s rule, which critics have said excludes and even persecutes minorities.

Authorities in Syria say that “the reality in Syria does not permit traditional (direct) elections,” according to the official website of the Higher Committee for the Elections of the People’s Assembly.

“There are millions of internally and externally displaced persons, a lack of official documents, gaps in the legal framework, and justifiable fears of the revival of the old regime’s tools under new names,” authorities said.

Speaking while overseeing the voting process at the National Library polling center in Damascus, al-Sharaa described the election as “a historic moment for Syrians,” saying the country had managed, within just a few months, to organize an electoral process “suited to the realities of this phase.”

“This moment is crucial for all Syrians. It is time to rebuild our nation together,” al-Sharaa said.

He added that many suspended laws “require a functioning parliament to move forward with the process of reconstruction and development.”

Not all provinces participated in the elections. Voting in most parts of Raqqa and Hasakah will be postponed due to what authorities described as “security and logistical challenges.” All constituencies in Suwayda province, which was the site of deadly sectarian clashes this year, will remain vacant until “appropriate conditions” are met.

Raqqa and Hasakah remain under the control of Kurdish-led YPG forces, while Suwayda is dominated by Druze factions loyal to cleric Hikmat al-Hijri. All the three areas are outside the central government’s control.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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