General election in Syria 2016

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The election to the People's Council in Syria in 2016 was scheduled by President Bashar al-Assad for April 13, 2016. It was a new election because the legislative period after the 2012 election was still ongoing. The election was criticized as a sham election and boycotted by the opposition. Parliament's influence on Syrian politics is generally assessed as non-existent. The role of parliament as prescribed in the constitution is not exercised due to the lack of fundamental rule-of-law standards. Parliament met for the first time on June 6, 2016.

Assad's unified list won with 100% and thus all 200 seats prescribed for parties. Not a single opposition candidate received a seat in parliament.

background

According to the election calendar, the elections should actually take place in 2017, but the controversial President Bashar al-Assad ordered new elections at short notice by decree on February 22, 2016 due to the Syrian civil war that had been going on since 2011 . Due to the civil war, more than half of the country is under the control of opposition rebels, Kurdish militias and the terrorist militia Islamic State . However, more than half of the population is concentrated in the parts of the country controlled by Syrian government forces.

It is the second election after the adoption of a new constitution in a 2012 referendum . According to the resolution passed by the UN Security Council in December 2015 , the parliamentary elections together with the presidential elections should take place within an 18-month transition period.

According to the electoral law, a party may not be religious , regional, denominational, professional or tribal, nor may it be an offshoot or ally of a non-Syrian party or organization. This means that the Muslim Brotherhood , the Syrian Kurds or parties striving for regional autonomy are excluded from voting.

The 250 members of the People's Council were elected from 15 constituencies with several members:

Constituency Seats
Damascus 29
Surroundings of Damascus 19th
Aleppo 20th
Near Aleppo 32
Homs 23
Hama 22nd
Latakia 17th
Edleb 18th
Tartus 13
Raqqa 8th
Deir ez-Zor 14th
Hassaké 14th
Deraa 10
Suweida 6th
Quneitra 5
total 250

Result

The National Unified List , which has existed since 1972, under the leadership of the Baath Party , which has ruled since 1963, won 80 percent (200 of the 250) of the parliamentary seats in the People's Council. According to the regime, all 200 candidates on the unified list were given their seats. More than 11,000 candidates stood, but the Syrians could only choose between 3,500 candidates. Two Armenians were elected to parliament, including an Armenian woman for the first time. The turnout was 57.56 percent.

The United Nations and the German federal government do not want to recognize the result .

Political party proportion of Seats Seats inside
National progress front 100% 200
172
7th
3
2
2
1
1
  • Non-party from the National Progress Front
 12
Independent 50
total   250
Source: IPU

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Opposition parties boycott parliamentary elections in Syria. In: WAZ. Retrieved April 17, 2016 .
  2. ↑ New Syrian Parliament convenes. In: The Standard . June 6, 2016, accessed June 6, 2016 .
  3. ^ President Assad calls for parliamentary elections next April. AMN, accessed February 22, 2016 .
  4. ^ Syria: Assad party wins parliamentary election. In: DiePresse.com. Retrieved April 17, 2016 .
  5. ^ Hairenik: Two Armenians Elected to Syria's Parliament. In: Armenian Weekly. Retrieved April 17, 2016 .