Syria Postpones Transitional People’s Assembly First Session Until Further Notice

Syria postponed the inaugural session of its newly formed 210-member People’s Assembly until further notice, with the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections saying the delay was tied to the 2025 constitutional declaration and decrees No. 66 and No. 143.

“Syrian authorities have postponed the first meeting of the new transitional parliament, days after announcing the inaugural session had been scheduled for Monday”

Al Jazeera

Shafaq News said the session had been scheduled for July 5, when members were expected to take the constitutional oath, after Syria completed formation of the Assembly with 140 members chosen through electoral bodies and 70 appointed by transitional President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

Al Jazeera

The same delay was described by Al Jazeera as an unexplained postponement, with state television reporting on Sunday that “The convening of the first session of the people’s assembly has been postponed to a date to be determined later,” citing an electoral official.

Al Jazeera also placed the move within Syria’s transitional framework, saying a temporary constitution signed by new President Ahmed al-Sharaa would be in force for a five-year transitional period, and that the new parliament would have a 30-month term while preparing a new elections law and a popular vote.

Euronews reported that Ahmed al-Sharā’ designated 70 members to complete the formation of the Transitional People’s Council, which it said consists of 210 members, with the first session set for next Monday before the postponement.

Euronews said the appointed members were distributed between 55 men and 15 women, and that the secretary-general of the council, Mohammed Hamza Shamout, explained the breakdown included 13 former detainees in the regime’s prisons.

ANHA

Al Jazeera said the electoral committee head Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad described the new parliament’s work as including “a 30-month term and work on a new elections law while preparing the ground for a popular vote.”

Al Jazeera further reported that Druze-majority Suwayda province in the south had not designated its members, and that electoral authorities said selection there would be held when conditions are “appropriate.”

Al Jazeera linked the delay to the broader transition after Syria’s new authorities dissolved the country’s rubber-stamp legislature following toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, after almost 14 years of civil war that killed about half a million people.

“Syria is preparing to hold the first session of the transitional parliament next week, in a new step within the phase led by the interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharā’”

Euronews

Al Jazeera said the selection process began in October when local committees appointed by the electoral commission, which was appointed by al-Sharaa, started selecting two-thirds of the 210 members, while al-Sharaa would appoint the remaining third.

In parallel, Shafaq News said the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections did not set a new date, and clarified that the postponement was based on the constitutional declaration, decrees No. 66 and No. 143 of 2025, and “public interest” requirements.

Euronews described the transitional parliament as a milestone for rebuilding state institutions while also noting that critics viewed it as a test of promises of political openness and inclusivity, framing the delayed first session as occurring during a period when the council was expected to begin work on elections law and preparations for a popular vote.