2025 Syrian parliamentary election Syrians vote to elect 121 of the 210 members of the People's Assembly in the first election held since the fall of the Assad regime...

Just seven women have been elected in Syria’s first elections since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, in an indirect parliamentary election marred by concerns about representation of minorities and the government’s tolerance for full democracy.

Authorities set a 20% target for women’s representation among electoral bodies as a way to ensure that women would have a say in the new government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former jihadist.

But in several large districts including Aleppo, the capital Damascus and its countryside, as well as Daraa and Idlib, no female winners were reported in early counts on Monday among the 119 declared winners.

Fewer than 10,000 people in the country of almost 25 million voted as members of handpicked electoral colleges on behalf of their regions.

Under the transitional rules – which came after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad last year, two-thirds of lawmakers in the 210-seat legislature are elected by the local electoral bodies and one-third are appointed by the president.

One of the parliament’s key tasks will be to draft a new constitution for the country and prepare for direct public elections in the next term.

With such a small fraction of the female quota filled, expectations are growing that the president’s appointed third may be used to raise the overall share of female lawmakers.

“Few women have been elected, which means that Sharaa may feel obliged to appoint a number of women among the 70 parliamentary members that he selects directly.

Damascus and Aleppo have yet to announce their winners,” Syria watcher Joshua Landis said on X.

The election marks the first of their kind since al-Sharaa assumed power.

Once known by his jihadist nom-de-guerre Ahmad al-Jolani, Sharaa came to power after Assad was ousted in a bloody opposition fight that overthrew his regime in December.

Sharaa once headed Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) – a group that was formed out of a former al Qaeda affiliate – but has since promised reform and to include other factions into government.

Sundays’ vote was an indirect one –not one of universal suffrage – meaning, only a handful of people were allowed to cast their ballots.

Around 6,000 to 7,000 voters were all chosen by Sharaa’s government.

The political importance lies in whether the issue moves from public comment into formal action, party response, court record, election authority notice or administrative decision.

For public institutions and political groups, the next test is whether the issue remains a public argument or turns into a formal response, legal proceeding, administrative instruction or election-related communication.