People's Assembly of Syria

People's Assembly مجلس الشعب الجمهورية العربية السورية‎ ALA-LC: Majlis ash-Shaʻb
Currently suspended[1] Most recent: 17th Parliament
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Vacant
Structure
Seats	250
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Last election	15 July 2024
Next election	TBD
Meeting place
Parliament Building, Damascus, Syria
Website
http://parliament.gov.sy/

Politics of Syria
Member State of the Arab League
Constitution Human rights
Executive President (list) Vacant Vice President Vacant Prime Minister (list) Mohammed al-Bashir Deputy Prime Minister Vacant
Legislature People's Assembly Speaker: Vacant
Judiciary High Judicial Council Supreme Constitutional Court
Subdivisions Governorates Districts Subdistricts (Nahiyas) Villages
Elections Recent elections Presidential: 2007 2014 2021 Parliamentary: 2016 2020 2024 Political parties
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister: TBA Diplomatic missions of / in Syria Syrian nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy UN resolutions on Syria Status of the Golan Heights Syrian civil war
Other countries
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The People's Assembly (Arabic: مَجْلِس الشَّعْب, ALA-LC: Majlis ash-Shaʻb) is the legislature of Syria. It has 250 members elected for a four-year term in 15 multi-seat constituencies.

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.^[2]

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.^[3] This led to the first Syrian legislative elections in 1928, which elected 68 representatives but was later disbanded on 5 February 1929.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.

Following the 1963 coup, a 250-member People's Assembly largely served as a rubber stamp for the ruling Ba'athists.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^[8][9][10] In 2017, Hammouda Sabbagh became the first Syriac Orthodox Christian to have held the post.^[11] There were two main political fronts; the National Progressive Front and Popular Front for Change and Liberation.

Following the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, the assembly published a statement calling that day a "historic day in the lives of all Syrians", stating that it would work towards ensuring the upholding of the rule of law without discrimination. The statement included the new coat of arms of Syria, adorned with the flag of the Syrian opposition.^[12]

On 11 December, the Ba'ath Party indefinitely halted all activities.^[13][14] The following day, the Syrian transitional government suspended the assembly and constitution during the three-month transitional period.^[15]

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 Ba'ath Party, while 65 Independents held the rest of the seats.^[16]

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)
• First Syrian Republic (1930–50)
  • Council of Representatives (1932–1933)
  • Chamber of Deputies (1932–1946)
  • House of Representatives (1947–1949)
• Second Syrian Republic (1950–58)
  • Constituent Assembly (1949–1951)
  • Chamber of Deputies (1953–1958)
• United Arab Republic (1958–1961)
  • Chamber of Deputies (1958–1960)
• Syrian Arab Republic (1961–2024)
  • Chamber of Deputies (1961–1963)
  • National Revolutionary Council (1963–1966)
  • People's Assembly (1971–2024)
• Syria (2024–present)
  • People's Assembly (2024–present)

• Speaker of the People's Council of Syria
• Politics of Syria

33°31′5″N 36°17′35″E / 33.51806°N 36.29306°E / 33.51806; 36.29306

• Alhakim, Youssef (1983). Syria and the French Mandate (in Arabic). Beirut: Dar Al-Nahar.

• People's Assembly of Syria official government website
• People's Assembly of Syria on Facebook
• Syria's Legislative System profiles of people and institutions provided by the Arab Decision project

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