DAMASCUS, July 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa finalised

on Wednesday the formation of the country's first parliament in the post-

Assad era, which authorities said will hold its first session next week.

Of the 70 lawmakers appointed, 15 are women and 13 were previously held in

prison under toppled president Bashar al-Assad.

The legislature's other members, two-thirds of the total, were selected by

electoral committees.

Sharaa's Islamist forces led a coalition that toppled Assad in late 2024

after more than 13 years of civil war.

After taking power, the new authorities dissolved Syria's rubber-stamp

legislature and adopted a temporary constitutional declaration to govern a

five-year transition period.

The declaration stated that the parliament, whose mandate is two and a half

years, would exercise legislative powers until a permanent constitution was

adopted and new elections were held.

The parliament will hold its first session on July 6, according to Mohammad

Taha al-Ahmad, head of the higher electoral committee.

In a process that began in October 2025, local committees appointed by the

electoral commission -- which was appointed by Sharaa -- selected most of the

210-member parliament.

Rights groups have criticised the selection process, saying it concentrates

power in Sharaa's hands and lacks representation for the country's ethnic and

religious minorities.

The electoral commission had announced in October the names of 119 members of

the new legislature, out of the 140 due to be chosen under this process.

At that time, seats remained vacant for parts of then Kurdish-held Raqa and

Hasakeh provinces in the north and northeast, and Druze-majority Sweida

province in the south, due to "security" reasons.

The Kurdish areas designated their representatives in May, following the

conclusion of an agreement on integrating the areas into the central

authorities.

Sweida has still not designated its members, but Sharaa has appointed two

people from this Druze-majority region, which in July last year saw sectarian

bloodshed.

BSS/AFP/SSS/1821 hrs