Syria postpones first session of new parliament

Syrian authorities have postponed the first meeting of the country’s new transitional parliament, days after announcing the inaugural session was scheduled for Monday.

“The convening of the first session of the people’s assembly has been postponed to a date to be determined later,” state television reports, citing an electoral official and without specifying a reason.

Syria’s new authorities dissolved the country’s rubber-stamp legislature after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, and adopted a temporary constitutional declaration to cover a five-year transition period.

In October last year, in a process criticized as undemocratic, local committees appointed by the electoral commission — which was in turn appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa — began selecting two-thirds of the 210 members of the new parliament, with Sharaa to appoint the remaining third.

He appointed 70 members this week.

Druze-majority Sweida province in the south has still not designated its members, after sectarian bloodshed there last year. Electoral authorities have said the selection process would be held there when conditions are “appropriate.”