People's Assembly of Syria
Legislative authority of the Syrian Arab Republic From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
People’s Assembly of the Syrian Arab Republic مجلس الشعب الجمهورية العربية السورية | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 250 |
 | |
Political groups | Government (250)
National Progressive Front (185) |
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
Last election | 15 July 2024 |
Next election | 31 July 2028 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Parliament Building, Damascus, Syria | |
| Website | |
| http://parliament.gov.sy/ | |
The People's Assembly (Arabic: مَجْلِس الشَّعْب, ALA-LC: Majlis al-Shaʻb) is Syria's legislative authority. It has 250 members elected for a four-year term in 15 multi-seat constituencies. There are two main political fronts; the National Progressive Front and Popular Front for Change and Liberation. The 2012 elections, held on 7 May, resulted in a new parliament that, for the first time in four decades, was nominally based on a multi-party system.[1] In 1938, Fares Al-Khoury became the first Christian to be elected Speaker. In 2016 Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Ph.D., representing Deir Ezzor since 2003, became the first woman elected to be the Speaker.[2][3][4] In 2017, Hammouda Sabbagh became the first Syriac Orthodox Christian to have held the post.[5]
The assembly meets at least three times a year and in special occasions called by the council's president or the president of the country.[6] Until 2012, the council primarily served as an institution to validate Syria's one-party system and the confirm the legislative proceedings of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath party.[7]
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, the Syrian National Congress was convened in May 1919 in Damascus. In September 1920, Henri Gouraud, High Commissioner of the Levant, formed a representative council, with two-thirds elected and one-third appointed by the French administration. On 28 June 1922, the Syrian Federation was established, creating a Federation Council of 15 members from various states. Due to the lack of elections, these members were appointed by the High Commissioner in 1923, and their terms were extended the following year.[8]
In 1925, after the formation of the State of Syria, President Ahmad Nami and High Commissioner Henri Ponsot agreed to hold elections for a constituent assembly to draft a constitution.[9] This led to the first Syrian legislative elections in 1928, which elected 68 representatives but was later disbanded on 5 February 1929.[10] Article Thirty of the 1930 Constitution established a legislative authority known as the House of Representatives, with representatives elected for five-year terms. From the adoption of the constitution until its abolition in 1949, the number of representatives ranged from 68 to 136 members.
The first elections for the House of Representatives were held in December 1931 and January 1932. The first council met in June 1932 and facilitated a compromise that led to Muhammad Ali Bey al-Abid's presidency. In the 1936 elections, the National Bloc won the majority of seats in the House of Representatives, and Hashim al-Atassi was elected president.[11] Concurrently, negotiations with France led to the independence treaty, ratified by the Syrian Parliament in December 1936. The 1947 Syrian parliamentary election was the first held after independence. Since the 1963 coup, the 250-member People's Assembly has largely served as a rubber stamp for the ruling Ba'athists.[12]
The last elections were held on the 15 July 2024. The National Progressive Front won 185 out of 250 seats, 169 of which were for the Baʻth Party, while 65 Independents held the rest of the seats.[13]
The name of the legislature in Syria has changed, as follows, as has the composition and functions:
- Under the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (1917–1920)
- Syrian National Congress (1919–1920)
- Arab Kingdom of Syria (1920)
- Syrian National Congress (1920)
- State of Syria, part of the French Mandate (1922–1930)
- Constituent Council (1923–1925)
- Constituent Assembly (1924–1930)
- Syrian Republic (1930–58)
- Council of Representatives (1932–1933)
- Chamber of Deputies (1932–1946)
- House of Representatives (1947–1949)
- Constituent Assembly (1949–1951)
- Chamber of Deputies (1953–1958)
- United Arab Republic (1958–1961)
- Chamber of Deputies (1958–1960)
- Syrian Arab Republic (1961–present)
- Chamber of Deputies (1961–1963)
- National Revolutionary Council (1963–1966)
- People's Assembly (1971–present)
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