ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE

JULY 14, 2026 05:18

Syria's newly established People's Assembly elected constitutional law expert Dr. Abdul Hamid al-Awak as speaker on Sunday. Mustafa Moussa and Dr. Madona Suhail Bashara were selected as deputy speakers in the legislature's opening session after the fall of former President Bashar Assad. This event signals the start of Syria's first legislative body in the transitional era.

The gathering, which included Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, featured 206 lawmakers swearing the constitutional oath before choosing assembly leaders and setting up a temporary legal panel to manage parliamentary rules.

The 210-seat body includes 140 elected representatives and 70 appointed by the president. Four positions stay open - three for Suwayda province due to postponed elections and one for Idlib after a member's passing.

Al-Awak, from Hasakah province, stands out as a leading legal voice in Syria's transition. As a constitutional law professor and ex-judge who left the prior regime, he led the group that prepared Syria's constitutional declaration for the transition phase.

A strong supporter of power separation and enhanced parliamentary checks, al-Awak helped shape the transitional constitutional structure and now heads the nation's first post-Assad legislature.

Still, what captured the most notice among Syrians was not the leadership vote or the president's remarks but elements missing from the initial meeting.

For the first time in years, the president spoke without the lengthy applause that once greeted former leaders Hafez Assad and Bashar Assad at parliamentary events. Many Syrians saw this lack of clapping as a sign of a shifting political atmosphere in the legislature.

The session included other notable firsts, such as the attendance of the first Kurdish woman and the first veiled woman under the assembly's roof. Bashara's role as second deputy speaker also put a woman in a top leadership spot.

In an X post after the event, al-Sharaa called the People's Assembly launch "an important national milestone" for advancing consultation, accountability, and institution-building rooted in dialogue, skill, and legal principles.

For over five decades, Syria's parliament tied closely to public shows of loyalty toward the president. Under Hafez and Bashar Assad, sessions often started with lawmakers rising for long applause before the president spoke, frequently followed by speeches lauding his rule and backing official policies.

Legislature faulted for missing independence from president

Over those decades, opposition voices, analysts, and rights groups often faulted the legislature for weak independence, claiming it mainly rubber-stamped government bills without real oversight or meaningful debate.

Given that history, many Syrians saw the missing applause at Sunday's session as more than a routine shift, viewing it as a symbolic effort to reset ties between the presidency and the legislature.

The scene quickly sparked wide discussion on Syrian social media. While some users hailed it as a clear break from Assad-era habits, others noted that the new assembly must ultimately prove itself through its legislative work rather than ceremony alone.

Bashar al-Hawi, a parliament member from Aleppo province, said the opening session's tone was planned on purpose.

"The lack of applause was not by chance," al-Hawi told The Media Line. "It showed a clear belief that parliament should serve as a legislative body without room for glorifying or clapping for the president. We aimed for the first session to offer a fresh image unlike what Syrians knew for past decades."

He noted that the new legislature hopes to earn public trust by truly representing Syrians, adding that many members "came from among the people and shared the same hardships Syrians faced during the war."

On female representation, al-Hawi said more balance remains needed but stressed that the women in parliament earned their spots through ability rather than token gestures, and he expects them to contribute actively ahead.

Nour al-Din Ismail, editor-in-chief of the Syrian state newspaper Al-Thawra, observed that the assembly's first session brought several new elements to Syrian parliamentary life, such as how proceedings ran, the leadership election, and the absence of applause for the president.

Yet he warned that these steps stay mostly symbolic unless they turn into enduring institutional habits.

"Any parliament's success is not judged by its opening session," Ismail told The Media Line, "but by the laws it enacts, its capacity to hold the government accountable, foster real debate, and reflect varied social interests."

Actual change depends on independence and power

He added that the true shift from earlier legislatures hinges on the assembly's independence and reach.

"If parliament becomes a venue for public debate, lawmaking, and government scrutiny," he said, "it will have moved past the pattern of prior parliaments, which drew criticism for simply approving government choices instead of influencing them."

Under Syria's constitutional declaration, the People's Assembly will hold legislative and oversight roles during the transitional period until a final constitution is approved and fresh elections occur.

The opening session also drew global notice. Claudio Cordone, the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, praised the People's Assembly launch as "a pivotal milestone" in the nation's political shift. He noted the parliament would help pass needed laws in this key stage and confirmed the United Nations' willingness to offer support.

Turkish Ambassador to Syria Nuh Yılmaz also marked the occasion, saying the country had waited decades to restore popular sovereignty after years of effort.