Syria puts off transitional parliament’s first session

Syrian authorities have delayed the first meeting of the country’s transitional parliament, leaving the new legislature without a start date days after its inaugural session was set. State television reported the postponement on Sunday, citing an electoral official, but did not give a reason.

The session had been scheduled for Monday, according to Al Jazeera, which reported the development with AFP and AP. State television said the People’s Assembly would meet at a later date that has not yet been determined.

The delay comes as Syria’s new leadership continues to build interim institutions after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. AFP and AP reported that the new authorities dissolved the previous legislature after Assad was toppled, following nearly 14 years of civil war that killed about half a million people.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a temporary constitution in March 2025, according to AFP and AP. That charter is intended to govern the country during a five-year transitional period.

How the assembly is being formed

The new parliament is planned as a 210-seat body, according to AFP and AP. Local committees chosen by the electoral commission began selecting two-thirds of its members in October, while Sharaa was set to appoint the remaining third.

The electoral commission itself was appointed by Sharaa, AFP and AP reported. This week, he named 70 members to the assembly, filling the share reserved for presidential appointments.

The process is incomplete in parts of the country. AFP and AP reported that Druze-majority Suwayda province in southern Syria has not yet designated its representatives after sectarian violence there last year.

Electoral authorities have said the selection process in Suwayda would take place when conditions are suitable, according to AFP and AP. They did not announce a date.

Selections were completed earlier this year in areas of northern and northeastern Syria that had previously been run by Kurdish authorities, AFP and AP reported. That followed Damascus assuming control there and signing an agreement to integrate Kurdish institutions into the state.

Mandate of the interim legislature

Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, head of the electoral committee, has said the new parliament will serve a 30-month term, according to AFP and AP. Its tasks include working on a new elections law and preparing the way for a public vote.

The unexplained delay leaves uncertain when that work will formally begin. Syrian authorities have not announced a new date for the assembly’s first sitting.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.