Damascus: Syria's electoral authority announced on Monday the official results of the country's first parliamentary elections since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. Nawar Najmeh, a spokesman for the Higher Committee for People's Assembly Elections, confirmed that results for two-thirds of the seats in the People's Assembly, or parliament, are final and not subject to appeal. President Ahmad al-Sharaa will appoint the remaining third of the seats, a process separate from the electoral bodies. Najmeh emphasized that each elected member of parliament represents all Syrians regardless of affiliation and that the new parliament is expected to be critical and revolutionary, supporting and monitoring government performance.

According to Anadolu Agency, 4% of the seats were allocated to people with disabilities and those wounded during the 13-year uprising against the Assad regime. Najmeh acknowledged issues such as unsatisfactory representation of Syrian women and weak Christian representation, with only two seats despite the community's size. Although he described the elections as fair and transparent, Najmeh admitted that limitations in population data affected seat distribution in some regions. He mentioned that President Sharaa is expected to address these imbalances when appointing the remaining one-third of assembly members.

Later, Committee Chair Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad announced that 119 candidates were elected through the ballot box, with 21 seats remaining vacant in the governorates of Suwayda and Raqqa in northeastern Syria, as well as Hasakah in the south. The electoral committee plans to meet Tuesday to discuss the mechanism for holding elections in these provinces. Najmeh noted that the expected timing for holding the elections aligns with the timeline for implementing the March 10 agreement, which aims to integrate the SDF into state institutions while maintaining Syria's territorial integrity.

The SDF, dominated by the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, is part of the agreement. Suwayda has observed a ceasefire since July 19, following armed clashes between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes and Israeli military attacks. On Sunday, Syria held an indirect election for its People's Assembly, the first since Assad's ouster. Approximately 6,000 voters were selected from electoral bodies nationwide to elect two-thirds of the 210-seat body. Under the new transitional system, 140 seats were contested through these indirect votes, with the president set to appoint the remaining 70 members.