The Complexities of the New Syrian Elections 

posted on: Oct 14, 2025

By: Amir Kobeissi / Arab America Contributing Writer

Syria’s recent elections may have seemed like a necessary step towards the country’s difficult transition of leadership, but this process is far more difficult than it may seem. Under a new constitution and voting system, only specific committees are given permission to vote for most seats, and the current President Al-Sharaa chooses the rest.  

Context and Background

After decades and decades of rule under both former Presidents Hafez Al-Assad and his son Bashar Al-Assad, Syria entered into a period of uncertainty after the regime collapsed in December of 2024. The old parliament was erased, and a new one was put into place in 2025 to mark a five-year transition period. This process consists of appointing new people who were not loyalists to the previous regime, and establishing a permanent constitution and legitimate elections.

The process of this new shift in power can be quite difficult as the country still remains extremely unstable. Certain territories especially in the eastern part of the country still remain under Kurdish administration and others under rebel control. And large amount of displacement all around the country remains a major issue in hope of bettering stability.

The Electoral System

The parliamentary election that was held on October 5th was based on The People’s Assembly consisting of 210 seats, and 140 of which being elected by a voting system, and the remaining being chosen directly by Syria’s interim president Al-Sharaa. Some complexities of this process is that its not open to all citizens, and delegates will need to be nominated to form the electoral college and cast votes. Certain elections were even postponed or uncertain as parts of the country with little to no government control like Suwayda and Kurdish held areas remain isolated. This left 19 seats inactive, and shows the limitations and struggles of Syrias security and population.

Conflicts and Challenges

The system, being put in a difficult situation as it is, can undergo problems like legitimacy and fairness. A lot of the process being controlled allows for delegates to be nominated, and restricts a large number of the population from voting. This can have an effect on the country’s population, as some may view it as not representing the country’s view as a whole. For example a very low share of women and minority representatives were from among the seats elected, but this could potentially be fixed with presidential appointees taking positions.

Elections being postponed in regions that are not under new government control can result in populations being marginalized and misrepresented. This can raise the question whether or not the government can be biased towards electing in areas controlled by the regime. The limited ability to make appeals or change can raise concerns about the fairness in this process and determine if biases may have occurred. Even after the assembly is formed, the constitution gives large authority to the executive branch, and the president may not be fully accountable.

Moving Forward

Despite some flaws in the process, these elections can be seen as a turning point in Syria’s history, and can lay a foundation for future elections and infrastructure improvement. In order to make this process more fair and efficient, expanded inclusion in all regions and a balance of power are needed to restore some of the order that may have been lost in the past.

Conclusion

Although the new Syrian elections may seem complex and fresh out of an ongoing civil war, there may be some sort of hope to come from this, especially after the instability with the former regime. The new system put in place may have several imperfections, but it can set the stage for moving forward after decades of hardship and struggle. In all, there is no real motion one can predict for the future, especially as changes in the country seem to be evident on a daily basis.

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