Salih Muslim, the co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main party of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), reaffirmed commitment to holding local elections in August despite increased Turkish threats of military action.
Muslim emphasized that these elections are aimed at managing local affairs in areas outside Syrian government control, stressing they have no intention to secede from Syria.
The PYD leader disclosed that US officials urged Syrian Kurds to announce the elections promptly.
He noted that Turkish reactions, which he termed “provocative,” were met with silence from the Syrian official side. He added that the Damascus regime fully understands that there are no Kurdish separatist plans from the Syrian state.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat at his office in Al-Hasakah, Muslim explained the reasons for the repeated delays in local elections in AANES regions.
“The elections were first postponed from May 30 to June 11 due to logistical issues with the Higher Elections Commission. There was a lack of preparation, possibly due to inexperience or unfamiliarity with our area,” said Muslim.
“Secondly, some political parties objected to the Commission's decision to shorten the campaign period from 20 days, as stipulated in the social contract, to just 10 days.”
“Thirdly, we wanted international and Arab observers and guests to monitor the elections.”
“However, arranging their travel takes time, especially since our region requires visas and approvals that can delay the process. We could only provide them with a 10-day notice.”
“These were the actual reasons for delaying the elections until August, despite claims linking it to American pressure and Turkish escalation.”
“It was expected, as hostile parties such as Türkiye would object to any local efforts to manage our region’s affairs,” clarified Muslim.
When asked about commitment to holding elections, Muslim said: “We are committed to proceeding with these elections as planned.”
“The decision lies with the entities involved in the Higher Commission and political parties.”
“The postponement aims to address initial shortcomings, but it is imperative that these elections proceed on schedule,” he affirmed.
As for the US reaction when elections were announced by the AANES, Muslim said: “They told us, ‘We see you are moving quickly with this.’ That was their only comment, without further explanation.”
Muslim agreed that the US might have a point regarding logistical preparations and significant deficiencies in organizing elections, particularly concerning visits by foreign delegations and observers.
However, Muslim said that the real reason behind the US caveat on rushing elections remains unclear.
