Campaigning begins for first elections since Assad’s ouster
Al-Khamisa News Network - Gaza
Campaigning for the People’s Council “parliament” in Syria began on Monday morning and will continue until next Friday evening, ahead of the poll on Sunday, October 5.
These are the first elections of their kind since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime (2000–2024) on December 8 last year.
Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad, head of the Higher Elections Commission, told the state news agency SANA on Monday: “The nomination period for membership of the People’s Council at the level of the fifty constituencies across Syria closed yesterday (Sunday) evening.”
He added: “The number of candidates reached 1,578, of whom women accounted for 14 percent, and the rate of female candidacy varied from one governorate to another.”
“Campaigning begins as of this morning (Monday) and ends next Friday evening, with Saturday set as an election silence day,” al-Ahmad added.
He continued: “Voting day will be Sunday, October 5, starting at 9 a.m. (UTC+3) until the polls close, and counting of votes will begin at 4 p.m.”
In late July, Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar’ received the final version of the interim electoral system for the People’s Council, and on August 27 he issued a decree ratifying it.
The decree set out conditions related to the electoral process, the qualifications required of People’s Council members, the committees associated with it, and the method of voting.
According to the decree, elections are held under a system based on indirect voting through “electoral bodies” formed in each electoral district by decision of the competent judicial committees.
These bodies include a specified number of members, their size calculated relative to the seats allocated to each district.
A candidate for council membership is required to be among the members of these bodies.
The council has 210 seats, one third of which are appointed directly by the president, while the other two-thirds are elected through this mechanism, which the authorities say is temporary and linked to the current circumstances.
