Syria13 July, 20263 min read
Ahmed al-Sharaa Attends Syria’s People’s Assembly Opening After Bashar Assad’s Fall
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Transitional assembly opened its first session and formed a constitutional drafting committee. Abdul Hamid al-Awak elected as leader of the Transitional Council.
Parliament opens after Assad
Syria’s newly formed People’s Assembly opened Sunday after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in December 2024, with 206 lawmakers taking the constitutional oath before electing leadership and forming a temporary legal committee to oversee parliamentary procedures.
The Media Line reported that the assembly elected constitutional law scholar Dr. Abdul Hamid al-Awak as speaker, while Mustafa Moussa and Dr. Madona Suhail Bashara were elected deputy speakers during the legislature’s first session since the fall of Assad.
Euronews said the Transitional People’s Council opened its first official session by electing a president, with 206 members taking the constitutional oath and seats of Sweida Governorate remaining vacant.
Euronews also reported that after a secret ballot, deputies elected Abdul Hamid Al-Awwak as president after he received 99 votes, ahead of Mu’id al-Qablaawi who received 75 votes and Ramiz Kuraj who received 31 votes, while one blank ballot was recorded.
The Media Line said Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attended the session and delivered his speech without the prolonged applause that had traditionally accompanied the arrival of former presidents Hafez Assad and Bashar Assad at parliamentary sessions.
Applause absence sparks debate
The Media Line framed the opening as a quiet break from the Assad era, saying Syrians focused on what was absent from the session: the president delivering his speech without prolonged applause. Bashar al-Hawi, a member of parliament representing Aleppo province, told The Media Line, "The absence of applause was not accidental," adding that it reflected a conviction that parliament should be a legislative institution with “no place for glorification or applause for the president.” Euronews reported that in the first UN reaction to the council’s convening, UN Special Envoy to Syria Claudio Cordoni described the step as a "milestone in the political transition" and said the parliament plays a "vital role in enacting urgent legislation" during the critical phase.
Euronews also said critics argued the council represents a test of the new authorities’ promises on political openness and inclusivity, while they see the formation mechanism as reinforcing the presidency’s control over legislative power and curbing parliamentary independence and political pluralism. The Media Line added that the moment became one of the most discussed scenes on Syrian social media, with some users describing the applause-free opening as a symbolic break from Assad-era parliamentary traditions.
Women, representation, next steps
As the assembly began work, multiple outlets tied the session to questions of representation, including the presence of women under the People’s Assembly’s dome and the election of leadership that included Dr. Madona Suhail Bashara as deputy speaker.
The Media Line said the session featured symbolic firsts, including the presence of the first Kurdish woman and the first veiled woman to serve under the assembly’s dome, and it reported that Bashara’s election as second deputy speaker placed a woman in one of the new legislature’s highest leadership positions.
Euronews reported that in the latest phase, 15 additional women were appointed, bringing the number of women in the council to 21 members, after the previous selection process had resulted in the election of only six women.
Euronews said the council’s term is set at thirty months, renewable, and that it will undertake legislative tasks including drafting a new constitution, approving the general budget, and exercising its powers until a permanent constitution is adopted and elections are held based on it.
Euronews also reported that the seats for Sweida Governorate remain vacant after authorities postponed completing the selection of its representatives in light of deadly violence in July 2025, while al-Sharaa appointed two members from Sweida among the one-third empowered to name him.