Syria writes new chapter with first polls since Assad’s ouster

Syria is holding parliamentary elections on Sunday for the first time since the fall of the country’s longtime autocratic leader, Bashar Assad, who was unseated in a rebel offensive in December.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

The new parliament will have a 30-month term, during which the government is supposed to prepare the ground for a popular vote in the next elections

Under the 0-year rule of the Assad dynasty, Syria held regular elections in which all Syrian citizens could vote. But in practice, the Assad-led Baath Party always dominated the parliament, and the votes were widely regarded as sham elections.

The elections which were held on Sunday, however, will not be a fully democratic process either.

Rather, most of the People’s Assembly seats will be voted on by electoral colleges in each district, while one-third of the seats will be directly appointed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

The new parliament will have a 30-month term, during which the government is supposed to prepare the ground for a popular vote in the next elections