10 Talking Points from Syria’s Parliamentary Elections

A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Damascus, Syria, July 19, 2020. (Reuters)
A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Damascus, Syria, July 19, 2020. (Reuters)
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10 Talking Points from Syria’s Parliamentary Elections

A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Damascus, Syria, July 19, 2020. (Reuters)
A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Damascus, Syria, July 19, 2020. (Reuters)

Syria’s recent parliamentary elections, the third since 2011, have revealed several changes that have taken place in the war-torn country. They have highlighted the emergence of warlords and showed their lack of transparency and disregard for the United Nations-sponsored peace process. The following are ten talking points from the polls:

1- Baath majority: Even though the current 2012 constitution eliminated the article that referred to the Baath as the “leader of the state and society”, the party still maintains its grip over the country. The party may have changed its name, but it kept its role in naming Baath candidates and the parties that are qualified to ally themselves with it. The party leadership submitted 183 candidates, including 166 Baathists, who became uncontested winners regardless of the vote. This narrowed down the “competition” to “independent” candidates, ranging from businessmen to warlords, vying for the remaining 67 seats in the People’s Council.

2- Geneva process: Since the eruption of anti-regime protests in 2011, Damascus has stuck to its military, political, economic and electoral paths. It organized parliamentary elections in 2012 and 2016, amended the constitution in 2012 and held presidential elections based on it in 2014. The third parliamentary elections reflect Damascus’ continued commitment to its “path” away from the ongoing political process taking place in Geneva that is aimed at implementing UN Security Council resolution 2254. The Baath’s continued control of the majority of parliament is a given and will ensure that it holds final say over any reforms or constitutional amendments. It will also hold sway over any candidate seeking to run for president whereby a nomination needs the approval of 35 lawmakers in order to be eligible. The same thing happened in 2014 and will happen again for the 2021 polls.

3- Presidential elections: It was clear that Damascus was not seeking to widen any margin for fresh faces for the parliamentary elections, which raises questions about next year’s presidential polls. The 2021 elections may face the same fate as the parliamentary ones unless the United States and Russia reach a regional understanding or an agreement is reached in Geneva on the polls.

4- Area and control: The parliamentary elections were held even though the regime does not control the whole of Syrian territories. American, Russian, Turkish and Iranian forces are currently deployed in Syria where the regime controls some 63 percent of territories. These four armies control the rest. Significantly, Israel carried out a series of air strikes, including against the Mezzeh military airport, as the ballots were being counted.

5- Voter turnout: According to the current constitution, military and security personnel are allowed to participate in the parliamentary elections. Syrians residing outside the country are not, but they can take part in the presidential polls. Witnesses said that as a result the voter turnout was very low. How will Damascus justify this? Will it blame the coronavirus outbreak or terrorist attacks?”

6- Familiar faces: Preliminary estimates showed that half of the new faces of parliament will be first-time members. Many stalwarts of the council will be absent, such as businessman Mohammed Hamsho, who withdrew his candidacy two days before the elections at the Baath’s behest. The elections sprung a surprise with the defeat of Aleppo businessman Fares al-Shehabi. Notably missing in Homs was major lawmaker Abdulaziz Trad al-Melhem, who usually opened parliament sessions.

7- War profiteers: Significant among the new faces at parliament are the war profiteers who amassed their wealth during the conflict. They include Hussam Qaterji from Aleppo and Bilal Niaal and Omar Khaity, who rose to prominence in the trade business in the Damascus countryside. Others include Alain Bakr in Aleppo, Ammar al-Assad in Latakia and Badi al-Droubi in Homs. Mohammed Hammam Msouti continued to make a name for himself at Hamsho’s expense.

8- Warlords: The parliamentary elections highlighted the rising influence of faction and militia commanders who have fought alongside the regime since 2011. Among them are Bassem Soudan, head of the “Baath Brigade” in Latakia, whose brother heads the Syrian branch of Hezbollah. Others include Hussam Qaterji, whose family is embroiled in trade and fighting, Omar Hassan, commander of the “Baqer unit”, in Aleppo, and Fadel Warda, former commander of the “national defense forces” in Hama.

9- Sectarian representation: According to an American research center, Alawite representation at the 250-member parliament rose to 39. Sunnis now occupy 171 seats, Christians 23 and Shiites five.

10- Criticism: Losers in the elections began to make criticism even before the final electoral results were announced. The businessman Fares al-Shehabi, who is known for his loyalty to Damascus, blamed his defeat on corrupt figures and warlords. This was understood as a reference to Qaterji and members of the Berri family. Artist Bashar Ismail, another defeated candidate, blamed his loss on “political money.”



Seating Plan for a Pope’s Funeral – It’s Complicated, or Compliqué

Police officers patrol as visitors queue to enter St. Peter's Basilica of the Vatican, viewed in the background, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, in Rome on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
Police officers patrol as visitors queue to enter St. Peter's Basilica of the Vatican, viewed in the background, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, in Rome on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Seating Plan for a Pope’s Funeral – It’s Complicated, or Compliqué

Police officers patrol as visitors queue to enter St. Peter's Basilica of the Vatican, viewed in the background, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, in Rome on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
Police officers patrol as visitors queue to enter St. Peter's Basilica of the Vatican, viewed in the background, a day prior to the Pope's funeral, in Rome on April 25, 2025. (AFP)

They may be the most powerful people on earth, but for the seating arrangement at Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday, all foreign leaders will play second fiddle to the Argentines and Italians and surrender to the whims of the French alphabet.

About 130 foreign delegations had so far expressed their desire to attend the funeral, the Vatican said on Friday, and more were expected to do so throughout the day. Those include around 50 heads of state who have been confirmed as attending, among them US President Donald Trump and 10 reigning monarchs.

Apart from the VIPs, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the funeral in St. Peter's Square, which starts at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Saturday. Italian police have laid on one of the most complex security operations in decades.

The official delegations will sit at a section to the right of the altar at the top of the steps leading toward St. Peter's Basilica.

Pride of place goes to Argentina, Francis' native country, whose president, Javier Milei, will sit in the front row. Milei, a maverick right-wing libertarian, had heaped insults on Francis while he was campaigning in 2023, calling him an "imbecile who defends social justice". But the president shifted his tone after he took office that year.

Next comes Italy, the country that surrounds the Vatican and which agreed in 1929 to recognize its sovereignty as the world's smallest state. It gets the second-best seats in the VIP section also because the pope is bishop of Rome and primate of the Catholic bishops of Italy.

That is when the alphabet in French – still considered the language of diplomacy – kicks in for the other delegations. The countries following Italy are ordered according to their names in French and not in their native languages.

So, it is Etats Unis and not United States, Allemagne instead of Deutschland (Germany), and Pays-Bas instead of Nederland (The Netherlands).

Royalty will take precedence. Reigning monarchs -- expected to include royalty such as the kings and queens of Spain and Belgium and Prince Albert of Monaco -- will be seated in front of other heads of state.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Friday that no distinction would be made between Catholic and non-Catholic royalty for the seating order. After the royals come the remaining heads of state. Trump, who attracted criticism from Francis because of his immigration policies, will sit ahead of many other leaders because Etats Unis begins with an "E".

That alphabetic logic means that Trump - currently engaged in trying to get a peace deal in the war in Ukraine - will not be sitting near Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Former US President Joe Biden, who has been the target of constant criticism by Trump, is attending the funeral, but will not be part of the official US delegation, a diplomatic source said. This means Biden, a lifelong Catholic, should be sitting further back, with other VIPs.