Syria’s transitional People’s Assembly convened its inaugural session in Damascus on Sunday, the first legislature to sit since the overthrow of Bashar al‑Assad in December 2024. President Ahmed al‑Sharaa addressed the 206 members present, describing the moment as the writing of “a new history” and urging lawmakers to become “a model of responsibility and competence.” The session then elected Abdul Hamid al‑Awak, a constitutional lawyer and former judge with a doctorate in public law, as speaker by a vote of 99 to 12 for the nearest opponent. Al‑Awak immediately announced the assembly would begin drafting internal regulations and form a committee to produce a new permanent constitution, with the next sitting scheduled for 26 July.

Viewed from Damascus, the opening marks a symbolic advance in a transition tightly managed by the presidency. Two‑thirds of the 210‑seat chamber were chosen indirectly last October by electoral colleges whose members were appointed by a commission named by Mr al‑Sharaa; the president then selected the remaining 70 legislators by decree on 1 July. Government officials argue that direct elections remain impractical given mass displacement and incomplete population registers. The assembly’s powers are limited: it can propose and adopt laws but is not required to grant confidence to the executive, and its 30‑month renewable term is set to expire once a permanent constitution is approved and full elections are held.

Regional and international observers have tempered their welcome with caution. The United Nations deputy special envoy for Syria, Claudio Cordone, acknowledged the session as an important step while calling for “redoubled efforts” to ensure institutions reflect the country’s diversity. Western diplomats note that the appointment mechanism, combined with a constitutional declaration that allows the president to replace a third of the assembly and shape the Constitutional Court, concentrates authority in Mr al‑Sharaa’s hands. Kurdish political representatives, speaking from northern Syria, complain that the indirect electoral system under‑represents their constituencies and replicates an exclusionary logic, though five Kurdish women from the Kurdish National Council did take seats. The three seats reserved for the Druze‑majority Sweida governorate remain vacant after sectarian violence prevented local elections; the president appointed two members from the governorate but the assembly lacks an elected Sweida delegation.

The composition of the chamber reflects the wartime networks that emerged after 2011 rather than formal party platforms. Members include former opposition activists, local council figures, legal professionals, and representatives of religious minorities, with women making up just over 10 per cent after the president’s appointments added fifteen female lawmakers. The election of al‑Awak, who served in the Syrian judiciary before defecting and later helped draft the transitional constitutional declaration, signals a preference for legal continuity within the new order. For Syrian civil‑society figures, the true test lies less in the inaugural session than in the coming months, when the assembly must balance its constitution‑writing mandate against public demands for direct elections and genuine power‑sharing. The dossier now moves to the committee stage, with a draft constitution expected to become the focal point of domestic and international scrutiny.