Government & politics — Syria

name ultimately derived from the ancient Assyrians who dominated northern Mesopotamia, but whose reach also extended westward to the Levant; over time, the name came to be associated more with the western area

• history: several previous; latest issued 15 February 2012, passed by referendum and effective 27 February 2012; note - UN-sponsored talks, which began in late 2019 between delegates from government and opposition forces to draft a new constitution; in March 2022, the 7th round of the Syrian Consti
• tutional Committee ended in Geneva with no results amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by one third of the People’s Assembly members; following review by a special Assembly committee, passage requires at least three-quarters majority vote by the Assembly and approval by the president

• chief of state: vacant; former President Bashar al-ASAD was overthrown by Islamist rebels on 8 December 2024; ASAD and his family flew to Mosco
• w where they were granted political asylum head of government: Prim
• e Minister Muhammad al-BASHIR (since 8 December 2024) cabinet: Council of Mini
• sters appointed by the president election/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); the president appoints th
• e vice president and prime minister most recent election date: 26
• May 2021 election results: 2021: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 95.2%, Mahmoud Ahmad MAREI (Democratic Arab Socialist Union) 3.3%, other 1.5% 2014: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD (Ba'th Party) 88.7%, Hassan al-NOURI (independent) 4.3%, Maher HAJJER (independent) 3.2%, other/invalid 3.8%
• expected date of next election: 2028

Description

unicameral People's Assembly or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority preferential vote to serve 4-year terms)

Elections

last held on 19 July 2020 (next to be held on 31 July 2024)

Election Results

• percent of vote by party - NPF 80%, other 20%
• seats by party - NPF 200, other 50;

Composition

men 224, women 26, percentage women 10.4%

• highest court(s): Court of Cassation (organized into civil, criminal, religious, and military divisions, each with 3 judges); Supreme Constitutional Cou
• rt (consists of 7 members) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), a judicial management body headed by the minister of justice with 7 members, including the national president; judge tenure NA; Supreme Constitutional Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the SJC;
• judges serve 4-year renewable terms subordinate courts: courts of first instance; magistrates' courts; religious and military courts; Economic Security Court; Counterterrorism Court (established June 2012)

14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah (Latakia), Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq (Damascus), Halab (Aleppo), Hamah, Hims (Homs), Idlib, Rif Dimashq (Damascus Countryside), Tartus

• legal parties/alliances: Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party [Bashar al-ASAD, regional secretary]
• Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th)
• Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]
• Arab Socialist Union of Syria or ASU [Safwan al-QUDSI]
• Democratic Arab Socialist Union [Hassan Abdul AZIM, general secretary]
• National Progressive Front or NPF [Bashar al-ASAD, Suleiman QADDAH] (alliance includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th)
• Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party)
• Socialist Unionist Party [Fayiz ISMAIL]
• Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr al-DIN]
• Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]
• Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP [Ali HAIDAR]
• Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL] major Kurdish political organizations: Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Saleh MUSLIM, Asia ABDULLAH]
• Kurdish National Council or KNC [Sa'ud MALA]
• Self-Administration of Northeast Syria or SANES [Abd Hamid al-MAHBASH]
• Syrian Democratic Council or SDC [Ilham AHMAD] other: Syrian Democratic Party [Mustafa QALAAJI]

• no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Syria; if the father is unknown or stateless, the
• yes residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, ICSID, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WBG, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); note - on 6 February 2012, the US suspended operations at its embassy in Damascus; Czechia serves as a protecting power for US interests in Syria mailing address: 6110 Damascus Place, Washington DC 20521-6110

Email address and website

• USIS_damascus@embassy.mzv.cz
• https://sy.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); note – operations at the embassy were suspended on 18 March 2014