Syria's New Parliamentary Elections Reflect Gender Disparities

The committee which organised Syria's first parliamentary elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad has acknowledged significant shortcomings, after results showed only 13% of the seats contested were won by female and minority candidates.

Observers said six women and 10 members of religious and ethnic minorities were among the 119 people elected to the new People's Assembly on Sunday.

There was no direct popular vote. Instead, electoral colleges are selecting representatives for two-thirds of the 210 seats. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is appointing the rest.

An election committee spokesman said the president's choices might compensate for the underrepresented components of society.

Twenty-one seats were not filled because the polls were postponed for security reasons in two Kurdish-controlled provinces in the north, and a third in the south which has seen deadly fighting between government forces and Druze militias.

Sharaa declared that the elections were a historic moment during a visit to a polling station and said the parliament would play an important oversight role during its 30-month term.

He promised a democratic and inclusive political transition after his Sunni Islamist group led the lightning rebel offensive that overthrew the Assad regime last December, ending a 13-year civil war that killed more than 600,000 people and displaced another 12 million.

However, the country has been rocked by several waves of deadly sectarian violence since then, fuelling fear and distrust among minorities.

Sunday's polls were overseen by the Higher Committee for the Syrian People's Assembly Elections, whose 11 members were chosen by the president in June.

In the end, women made up 14% of the 1,500 candidates. However, there were no quotas for female lawmakers, nor for those from the country's many ethnic and religious minorities.

After publishing the preliminary election results on Monday, higher election committee spokesman Nawar Najmeh remarked that women's representation was unsatisfactory, and the representation of Christians was limited to two seats, which he acknowledged as a weak representation.

The US estimates that about 10% of Syria's 24 million population is Christian. Sunni Muslims comprise 74%, other Muslim sects 13%, and Druze 3%.

Najmeh suggested that the president's third of the seats could compensate for some underrepresented components of society.

The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), representing the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northern Syria, stated that the elections did not reflect the will of the Syrian people.

Overall, while the interim government asserts a commitment to inclusivity, many citizens remain doubtful about the elections' integrity amidst ongoing sectarian tensions and violence.