Syria holds election for pro-Assad parliament amid boycott in south

One man was wounded as security forces fired at a protest in Suweida

People protesting outside police headquarters in the centre of Suweida city, south-western Syria, on Monday. AFP

Syria held parliamentary elections on Monday amid a continuing economic slide after 13 years of civil war and further protests against President Bashar Al Assad in the southern province of Suweida.

Elections to the 250-member People's Assembly, held every four years, are seen mainly as an indicator of power shifts among political players in a system dominated by the Assad family since 1970.

The largely loyalist legislature has been controlled by the president's Baath party since a 1963 coup. Mr Al Assad succeeded his father, the late Hafez Al Assad, in 2000.

This year’s poll was marked by a boycott in Suweida, a province near the border with Jordan which is largely inhabited by members of the Druze minority.

Suhail Theiban, a prominent civil figure in Suweida, said a man in his 70s was severely wounded in the main square of Suweida city after security forces opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest against the election.

The man was a bystander who was hit when intelligence personnel opened fire from a nearby security compound, Mr Theiban, who was at the demonstration, told The National.

He said the protest continued and security forces withdrew armoured vehicles stationed near the square.

"The elections boycott has been widespread. The people of Suweida recognise that this regime has destroyed the country," he said.

Security forces have largely avoided direct fire on the protesters in Suweida, who have been holding demonstrations demanding the removal of Mr Al Assad since August last year.

The parliamentary election is seen as an important tool to project political legitimacy in the system where all the power is in the hands of Mr Al Assad and his inner circle, foremost among them his brother Maher, who heads the core of the Praetorian Guards.

The "Syrian state, always and forever, respects constitutional obligations", Prime Minister Hussein Arnous was quoted as saying by official media on Monday.

He said Syria was on the verge of a reconstruction phase and that the new parliament would have “huge tasks” in this regard.

Syria's economy and infrastructure have been devastated by the civil war that began in 2011 after the security forces, dominated by members of the President's Alawite sect, suppressed a peaceful, pro-democracy protest movement. The violent crackdown sparked an armed revolt spearheaded by members of the majority Sunni sect.

The country has fragmented into zones dominated variously by Iran, Russia, Turkey and the US, although the balance has tilted in favour of Moscow. Russia's military intervention in 2015 returned large areas of territory to the control of Mr Al Assad's forces and to the Iranian-backed militias that have been crucial to his survival.

Since 2011, new figures have entered parliament from among profiteers and operators of illegal activities associated with the war, such as protection rackets and the smuggling of people and goods, as well as figures associated with Iran and Russia.

The authorities have kept in place decades-long regulations that de facto reserve two thirds of the seats for candidates of the Baath party and the National Progressive Front, a largely moribund constellation of loyalist political groups headed by the Baathists.

A report by Jusoor Centre for Studies, an anti-Assad Syrian think tank based in Istanbul, said the authorities have allowed more members of the old moneyed classes to stand in the current elections, in contrast to the new class of business people who have entered politics in the past decade.

People directly connected to pro-regime militias also appear to be running this time, the centre said in a report.

The general economic picture, however, has been deteriorating, despite the reducing isolation of the regime since resumption of ties with most Arab countries last year.

According to a report by the World Bank published in May, Syria’s economy contracted by 84 per cent between 2010 and 2023. It is expected to contract 1.2 per cent this year, compared with 1.5 per cent in 2023, the report said.

Inflation is expected to rise to 99.7 per cent this year, compared with 92.3 per cent in 2023, it said.