Syria's new parliament holds first session in Damascus, 19 months after Assad's fall

Summary

Syria's 210-seat People's Assembly convened in Damascus on July 12 for its inaugural session, 19 months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government. The chamber -- 140 members elected via indirect electoral colleges (Oct 2025-May 2026) and 70 appointed directly by President Ahmed al-Sharaa -- chose Abdul Hamid al-Awak, a former judge from Hassakeh, as speaker; Madonna Bishara, a Christian civil engineer, was elected second deputy speaker with 67 votes. The session drew sharply divergent international readings: Turkey's foreign ministry called it "an important step in Syria's political transition," while Iran's state broadcaster PressTV headlined the event as "Syria's unelected parliament holds first session since HTS regime took power."

The split

Within Syria, the assembly's composition reflects al-Sharaa's choice to build a legislature around constituencies that backed the revolution rather than seek consent across civil-war fault lines. The Kurdish-led SDF, which held most of northeastern Syria through the conflict, boycotted the process; seven Kurdish MPs sit in the chamber, all from the Kurdish National Council, a rival of the SDF. No PYD or SDF-linked figure was included. KNC official Sulaiman Oso said he hoped the Kurdish MPs would be "the voices of our people in parliament." Three Suwayda seats remain vacant after government forces and Druze fighters killed approximately 1,700 people in that province in 2025 (UN figure); Damascus says elections will happen when "conditions become suitable." Non-Sunni minorities hold 15 of 207 filled seats (roughly 7%): 6 Christians, 5 Alawites, 3 Ismailis, and 1 Druze. Alawites constituted the Assad security state's core for five decades; they now hold 5 seats.

Internationally: Turkey, which backed the transition and championed al-Sharaa diplomatically, framed the session as the democratic culmination of Syrian sacrifice; Turkish Ambassador Nuh Yilmaz said "Syria deserved this" after decades of repression and war. Iran, which lost its Syrian ally and its overland arms-transit corridor, refuses to legitimise the new order: PressTV uses "HTS regime" and "unelected parliament" throughout. Israel's INSS described the body as "a sophisticated mechanism of co-optation" and "managed inclusion rather than an independent legislature," reflecting Israeli uncertainty about whether al-Sharaa's pragmatic public image masks an Islamist consolidation project. Gulf media broadly called it a transitional milestone while noting the chamber's limited current powers.

By the numbers

• 210 total seats: 140 elected via electoral colleges (Oct 2025-May 2026), 70 appointed by al-Sharaa
• 21 women MPs, 15 from al-Sharaa's direct appointments
• 7 Kurdish MPs, all from the Kurdish National Council; zero SDF or PYD-linked members
• 15 of 207 filled seats held by non-Sunni minorities: 6 Christians, 5 Alawites, 3 Ismailis, 1 Druze
• 3 Suwayda seats vacant; approximately 1,700 killed in 2025 government-Druze clashes (UN); 1 additional seat vacant due to a lawmaker's death
• Speaker: Abdul Hamid al-Awak, 99 votes (Hassakeh, former judge); Second deputy: Madonna Bishara, 67 votes (Christian, civil engineer)

Why it matters

Syria's political transition now has a functioning legislature for the first time since Assad's fall. Two structural gaps define what the assembly is not: the SDF-controlled northeast and Druze-controlled Suwayda are absent, meaning the chamber represents the territory al-Sharaa controls but not all of Syria. Whether the assembly develops into a real check on the executive -- or functions mainly as a legitimising body -- will be a central test of whether Syria's reconstruction avoids the authoritarian consolidation that Syria Conflict documented under the previous government. Israel's INSS frames the same design as consistent with both genuine democratisation and managed authoritarianism; the distinction will become visible only as formal powers are assigned and contested.

What to watch

• Whether the 3 Suwayda seats are filled before the next session, and whether any agreement with Druze leaders makes those elections viable.
• Whether the SDF and Damascus reach a political deal that creates a path for northeast representation.
• How the assembly's formal powers evolve under Syria's transitional constitution: whether it develops into a real check on executive authority or functions as a legitimising body.
• EU and US responses to the assembly's composition, particularly regarding minority representation, as part of ongoing sanctions-lifting negotiations with Damascus.