Syria's Sharaa ratifies electoral law, granting himself power to appoint one-third of MPs

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has ratified a decree establishing a temporary electoral system for the People’s Assembly, the country’s parliament, in a move critics say entrenches his control over the legislature.

The decree, issued this week, sets the number of assembly members at 210 and allows Sharaa to appoint one-third of them directly, while the remaining two-thirds will be chosen through newly created "electoral bodies".

The system effectively consolidates presidential power amid efforts by the interim authorities to restructure the political system after more than 14 years of conflict.

Under the controversial new decree, seats will be allocated by population across administrative districts, but candidacy is restricted to members of the electoral bodies, which are to be formed by local subcommittees.

The decree stipulates that these bodies must include at least 20 percent women, as well as representatives of displaced communities, families of those killed or wounded in the conflict, people with disabilities, and survivors of detention.

Their composition is to be split between "qualified individuals" (70 percent, defined as university graduates) and "notables" (30 percent, described as socially influential figures).

The decree also sets eligibility criteria for election supervisors, barring supporters of the former Assad regime, members of armed groups, advocates of separatism, and those with ties to the military or security apparatus.

Oversight will be handled by a Supreme Elections Committee based in Damascus, which will supervise the process and retain authority over subcommittees and appeals.

While the committee is formally mandated to operate with "independence and impartiality", many question how such guarantees can be enforced.

In addition to appointing one-third of parliament, Sharaa will also have the authority to fill any vacant seats from his appointed bloc.

The system has been widely criticised inside Syria. Many argue it falls far short of demands for representative governance and democratic reform.

Syrian journalist and activist Rami Jarrah described the system as a "farce" in a Facebook  post, stressing that a genuine national dialogue must be held and the temporary constitutional declaration amended to allow for real parliamentary elections.

"A parliament where one-third is directly appointed by a self-appointed president, and the remaining two-thirds are selected by a body he himself appoints, under a contested constitutional declaration that gives him sweeping powers that he might as-well have written himself, cannot be described as an election," Jarrah said.