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.