Tight security as Syrians vote to elect People's Assembly

Syria on Sunday held its first parliamentary elections, nearly a year after a rebelled offensive unseated Bashar Al Assad.

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The People's Assembly will be tasked with passing a new elections law and constitution as the country moves through its post-Assad political transition after more than a decade of civil war.

Across the country, security forces were deployed around polling stations.

Inside, electoral college members entered polling booths to fill out their ballot papers with lists of names that were then placed in a sealed box until they were pulled out and counted in front of candidates, journalists and observers from the Syrian bar association.

There was no direct popular vote in this election. Two-thirds of the 210-member assembly seats will be elected through province-based electoral colleges, with seats distributed by population, while one-third will be appointed directly by interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa.

The new parliament will serve a 30-month term while preparing for future elections.

In theory, 7,000 electoral college members across 60 districts are eligible to vote for 140 seats, but elections were postponed indefinitely in Sweida province and in areas controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces due to tensions between the local authorities and Damascus.