People's Assembly مجلس الشعب | |
|---|---|
| 23rd People's Assembly | |
.svg) | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1930; 96 years ago (1930) (as Chamber of Deputies) 2025; 1 year ago (2025) (current format) |
| Leadership | |
Vacant since 12 December 2024 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 210 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 30 months, renewable once |
| Elections | |
First election | 1931–32 |
Last election | 5 October 2025 |
| Meeting place | |
| Damascus,Syria | |
| Constitution | |
| Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic | |
|
|---|
|
ThePeople's Assembly (Arabic:مَجْلِس الشَّعْب,ALA-LC:Majlis ash-Shaʻb, also called thePeople's Council[1]) is the unicamerallegislative body ofSyria. Currently, under theSyrian transitional government, the assembly is composed of 210 members serving a renewable 30-month term; 119 of these members were elected in the2025 Syrian parliamentary election through an electoral college, whilst the remaining 70 is to be chosen directly by thepresident of Syria.
The remaining 16 seats are currently left vacant due to the regions representing them, that beingAl-Hasakah,Suwayda, andRaqqa, having their elections indefinitely postponed for the time being. Elections have also been delayed inAyn al-Arab District, resulting in 2 more pending seats. The postponements are due to these areas not being under the control of theSyrian transitional government, but instead administered by theSyrian Democratic Forces (SDF) within theDemocratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), as well as theSupreme Legal Committee in Suwayda.
After the fall of theOttoman Empire in 1918, theSyrian National Congress was convened in May 1919 in Damascus. In September 1920,Henri Gouraud,High Commissioner of the Levant, formed a representative council, with two-thirds elected and one-third appointed by the French administration. On 28 June 1922, theSyrian Federation was established, creating a Federation Council of 15 members from various states. Due to the lack of elections, these members were appointed by the High Commissioner in 1923, and their terms were extended the following year.[2]
In 1925, after the formation of theState of Syria, PresidentAhmad Nami and High CommissionerHenri Ponsot agreed to hold elections for a constituent assembly to draft a constitution.[3] This led to the first Syrian legislative elections in 1928, which elected 68 representatives but was later disbanded on 5 February 1929.[4] Article Thirty of the1930 Constitution established a legislative authority known as the House of Representatives, with representatives elected for five-year terms. From the adoption of the constitution until its abolition in 1949, the number of representatives ranged from 68 to 136 members.
The first elections for the House of Representatives were held in December 1931 and January 1932. The first council met in June 1932 and facilitated a compromise that led toMuhammad Ali Bey al-Abid's presidency. In the 1936 elections, theNational Bloc won the majority of seats in the House of Representatives, andHashim al-Atassi was elected president.[5] Concurrently, negotiations with France led to the independence treaty, ratified by the Syrian Parliament in December 1936. In 1938,Fares Al-Khoury became the firstChristian to be elected Speaker.
The first elections after independence were the1947 parliamentary election, with thePeople's Party winning a plurality but no absolute majority. In 1949, a series of military coups led to the dissolution of parliament and constitutional suspensions.[6][7] A Constituent Assembly elected in 1949 drafted the1950 Constitution, which strengthened parliamentary powers.
Adib al-Shishakli's1951 coup dissolved parliament, and his1953 election, with only 16% turnout, created an 82-member legislature under a presidential system.[8][9][10] After his ouster in 1954, parliamentary rule was restored, with the People's Party andBa'ath Party gaining influence.[11][12]
In 1958, the Syrian parliament was replaced by theUAR's National Assembly, where Syrians held one-third of the seats. Following Syria's withdrawal, the1961 election restored parliamentary democracy.[13]
Following the1963 coup, a 250-member People's Assembly largely served as arubber stamp for the rulingBa'athists.[14] Only parties affiliated to theNational Progressive Front could participate in elections.
The2012 elections, held on 7 May, resulted in a new parliament that, for the first time in four decades, was nominally based on amulti-party system.[15] The opposition was represented by thePopular Front for Change and Liberation, winning 6 seats. It later boycotted the2016 elections as the government hadn't upheld its pledges to seek constitutional amendments and pursue political negotiations.[16]
In 2016,Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, representingDeir Ezzor since 2003, became the first woman elected to be the Speaker.[17][18] In 2017,Hammouda Sabbagh became the firstSyriac Orthodox Christian to have held the post.[19]
Following thefall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, the assembly published a statement calling that day a "historic day in the lives of all Syrians", stating that it would work towards ensuring the upholding of therule of law withoutdiscrimination. The statement included the newcoat of arms of Syria, adorned with theflag of the Syrian opposition.[20]
On 11 December, the Ba'ath Party indefinitely halted all activities.[21][22] The following day, theSyrian caretaker government suspended the assembly and constitution for a three-month transitional period.[23] The People's Assembly was dissolved on 29 January 2025 when plans to establish an interim legislative council were announced by the Syrian transitional government.[24] Following the adoption of the2025 Interim Constitution of Syria, a provisional parliament called the "People's Assembly" was established to serve as the interim parliament during the five-year transition, overseeing the drafting of a new permanent constitution.[25] The president selects one-third of the People's Assembly members,[26] with the remaining two-thirds being elected through commissions supervised by a committee designated by the president.[27][28]
A presidential decree issued on 2 June 2025 established the Higher Committee for People's Assembly Elections. The 11-member committee is responsible for overseeing the formation of electoral sub-committees, which will elect two-thirds of the members of the People's Assembly.[29]
On 5 October, the2025 Syrian parliamentary election was held in the temporary electoral system as an indirect vote, where only around 6,000 selected Syrians were eligible. 140 members were due to be elected by the electoral college, although only 119 were elected on election day due to postponement in select areas from security concerns.[30][31][32][33] PresidentAhmed al-Sharaa is set to appoint the remaining 70 additional members.[30]
After about 30 years since the last renovation, at the beginning of November 2025 the restoration of the Syrian parliament building was launched, in line with the new symbols of the Syrian transitional government.[34]
The representation of various sects in the Syrian parliament has evolved over time, influenced by both formal allocations and informal practices. The 1930 Constitution mandated fair representation for religious minorities in both parliament and top-tier government positions, similar to Lebanon's system. This allocation continued until 1949, when it was abolished byHusni al-Za'im. The 1950 Constitution further eliminated sectarian seat allocations, though it maintained reserved seats for non-Muslims, such asChristians andJews who had at least one representative in the 1920s,[35] as well as for nomadicBedouins. Notably, seats designated for Bedouins were filled by tribal leaders rather than through elections. TheYazidis (around 13,000 people) were entirely excluded from parliamentary representation, as the Syrian state did not recognize their faith, classifying them as Sunni Muslims.[36][37] Furthermore,Kurdish political representation in Syria was limited due to the denial of citizenship to many Kurds, particularly following the 1962 census.[38]
UnderHafez al-Assad's rule, which began in 1971, the Ba'ath Party dominated the political landscape. While the1973 Constitution did not specify sectarian quotas, the regime maintained a balance to ensure representation of key groups. According to data from 2024, the 250 seats in the People's Council are distributed as follows:Sunni Muslims (171 seats), reflecting their majority status in Syria's population,Alawites (39 seats), corresponding to their demographic proportion, Christians (23 seats), allocated across various provinces,Druze (9 seats), with a significant number from theSuwayda Governorate,Shia Muslims (5 seats),Ismailis (2 seats),Murshidites (1 seat).[36]
Elections were last held on 5 October 2025. President Ahmed al-Sharaa has yet to select the remaining 70 seats as of now.
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Independents | 122 | +57 | |||
| Pending | 72 | – | |||
| Vacant | 16 | – | |||
| Total | 210 | - | |||
| Total votes | 6,000 | – | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 6,000 | 100.00 | |||
| ||||||
| Election | No. | Total seats | Composition | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | — | 120 |
| |||
| Election | No. | Total seats | Composition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | — | 58 | ||
| ||||||||||||||
| Election | No. | Total seats | Composition | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 1st | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 1936 | 2nd | 80 | ||||||||||||
| 1943 | 3rd | 124 | ||||||||||||
| 1947 | 4th | 130 |
| |||||||||||
| 1949 | 5th | 114 |
| |||||||||||
| 1953 | 6th | 83 |
| |||||||||||
| 1954 | 7th | 140 |
| |||||||||||
| 1961 | 8th | 172 |
| |||||||||||
| Election | No. | Total seats | Composition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | — | 134 | ||
| ||||||||||||||||
| Election | No. | Total seats | Composition | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 9th | 173 | ||||||||||||||
| 1973 | 10th | 186 |
| |||||||||||||
| 1977 | 11th | 195 |
| |||||||||||||
| 1981 | 12th |
| ||||||||||||||
| 1986 | 13th |
| ||||||||||||||
| 1990 | 14th | 246 |
| |||||||||||||
| 1994 | 15th |
| ||||||||||||||
| 1998 | 16th | 248 |
| |||||||||||||
| 2003 | 17th | 250 |
| |||||||||||||
| 2007 | 18th |
| ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 19th |
| ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 20th |
| ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 21st |
| ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 22nd |
| ||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 23rd | 210 |
| |||||||||||||
33°31′5″N36°17′35″E / 33.51806°N 36.29306°E /33.51806; 36.29306
Syria topics | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
