Everything you need to know about Syria’s first post-Assad elections

Syria will select the People’s Assembly on Sunday in the country’s first elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December.

The elections are a historic moment after more than 50 years of dynastic, oppressive al-Assad rule and are another test for the new government, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

However, the electoral process has been subject to debate.

There will be no universal voting. Instead, al-Sharaa will appoint one-third of the assembly members, and the rest will be chosen by electoral subcommittees.

If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Here’s everything you need to know about Syria’s elections:

Elections but no direct voting by Syrian citizens?

Correct.

There are 210 seats in the new People’s Assembly, 40 seats fewer than under al-Assad, and members will serve 2.5-year terms.

Al-Sharaa will appoint 70 members, and the other 140 will be voted on by subcommittees overseen by an 11-person Supreme Committee, which was appointed by al-Sharaa.

The subcommittees are made up of about 6,000 electors, who will cast ballots at regional electoral colleges.

Syrian authorities said no general vote is being held because they don’t have reliable census data after millions of people were displaced by nearly 14 years of war.

“There will be voting, but it will have a limited political impact,” Aron Lund, a Syria expert and fellow at the Century International think tank, told Al Jazeera.

“It is an indirect election using a set of electors who have basically been handpicked by the current rulers. … It all takes place in circumstances that do not really allow for meaningful debate, even though Syria is now thankfully free of Assad-style censorship and police state tactics.”

There are no political parties involved in the elections either.

Polls opened at 9am (06:00 GMT) and will close at 5pm (14:00 GMT).

How many candidates are running?

The Supreme Committee, appointed by al-Sharaa, approved 1,570 candidates. Those candidates are running for the 140 seats before al-Sharaa appoints the last 70 assembly members.

There are no quotas although a draft law stipulated that the electoral colleges have 20 percent representation for women, 3 percent for people with special needs and a 70-to-30 split for professionals over traditional notables.

Haidar Shahin, an Alawite candidate from the Tartous governorate, was shot dead on September 30 in his home in Tartous by a masked man.

The government-aligned Al-Watan newspaper said on Telegram that Shahin was killed by “remnants of the former regime”. Authorities said they are investigating Shahin’s killing.

Tartous was one of the scenes of violence in March when al-Assad loyalists launched an insurrection that devolved into sectarian killings. Since then, Alawites said they’ve faced sectarian threats and discrimination.

Is voting happening everywhere?

No, not yet. Up to 32 of the 210 members’ seats will remain empty.

Voting in three areas was postponed by Syrian authorities who said Kurdish-controlled regions in the northeast and the southern region of Suwayda, where fighting occurred in July and August between Druze and Bedouin communities, were not ready for voting.

How do Syrian people feel about the elections?

There’s positivity but also scepticism.

Many in Syria are still overjoyed by the fact the al-Assad family is no longer in power, welcoming any alternative to its brutal reign.

But some Syrians told Al Jazeera that security concerns, including massacres in coastal governorates like Tartous, clashes in Suwayda and other attacks on minorities have left them distrustful of al-Sharaa’s leadership and central role in these elections.

Still, there is overwhelming popular support for democracy in Syria, according to a recent poll by the Arab Center that indicated 61 percent of Syrians favour a democratic system that includes political pluralism and accountability.

Eight percent of respondents said they want a system governed by Islamic law without parties or elections while another 6 percent said they want a political system in which only Islamic parties compete.

Is this just a continuation of one-man rule?

Al-Sharaa is obviously the most influential figure, by far, in this process.

He has dominated Syrian politics since leading the offensive that overthrew al-Assad on December 8.

Still, analysts believe the elections have value and are not a repetition of the sham elections held under the al-Assad regime.

“You’ll probably see some genuinely popular figures and a lot of local notables float to the top, and that matters,” Lund said.

“Syria needs to let local communities connect to the Damascus power structure.

“I don’t think this should be dismissed as theatrics. But it’s also not a proper election in the sense that it’s going to create an independently powerful legislature or allow for competition between political camps.”

Al-Sharaa’s centrality in Syrian politics is unlikely to change after the elections. Still, they could be a first step in building a more pluralistic political process, analysts said.

“In fairness, I think this is all pretty typical for countries that have undergone a revolutionary transformation like Syria. How else would you do it? You have to start somewhere,” Lund said.

“So you end up with something like this, and it’s better than nothing.”

What comes next?

The results of the elections should be known by Tuesday, after which the question will be how the People’s Assembly will operate.

“To what extent will this parliament be allowed to shape politics and voice dissonant opinions as opposed to just rubber-stamping laws?” Lund asked.

“Is this a first step toward having real elections next time around, or is it just a box-ticking exercise in an emerging new authoritarian order?”