Popular Front for Change and Liberation الجبهة الشعبية للتحرير والتغيير | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President | Qadri Jamil |
| Founded | 2011; 15 years ago (2011) |
| Headquarters | Damascus |
| Ideology | Communism Social nationalism Syrian nationalism Secularism |
| Political position | Far-left toSyncretic |
| People's Assembly | 0 / 250 |
ThePopular Front for Change and Liberation (Arabic:الجبهة الشعبية للتحرير والتغيير,al-Jabha aš-š‘abiyya li'l-taghayyir wa'l-taḥrīr) is a coalition ofSyrianpolitical parties. It briefly participated as the leader of the officialpolitical opposition within thePeople's Assembly of Syria, the state'sunicameralparliament.[1] Following Assad regime's decision to conduct the2016 parliamentary elections during the Geneva talks, the front withdrew its participation.[2]
The front was established in August 2011.[3] Coalition leaderQadri Jamil stated that there had been numerous violations in favor of their opponent, theNational Progressive Front, in the2012 parliamentary election.[4]
They have criticized the ruling party on occasion, particularly after the 2012 parliamentary election, when Qadri Jamil questioned the transparency of the vote and considered giving up his seat depending on the government's response, and a member of the SSNP complained about the Ba'ath party's domination of parliament.[3]
Leader of the SSNP-IntifadaAli Haidar announced on May 6 2014 that his party was withdrawing from the Popular Front for Change and Liberation over a difference in positions towards the2014 presidential election. The SSNP supported the re-election ofBashar al-Assad.[5]
On 10 August 2014, the remaining Popular Front signed a Memorandum of Understanding with theNational Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, calling for ″comprehensive grassroots change, which means the transition from the current authoritarian regime to a democratic pluralistic system within a democratic civil State based on the principle of equal citizenship to all Syrians regardless of their ethnic, religious and sectarian identities.″[6]
FollowingAssad regime's decision to organizeparliamentary elections in 2016 without upholding its previous pledges to seek constitutional amendments and political negotiations, PFCL withdrew its participation from the Syrian parliament and joined the rest ofSyrian opposition. The elections were widely perceived as a hardening of government stance and part of its attempts scuttle the Geneva framework.[7]