Syria: Oversight tightened ahead of elections

Shafaq News – Damascus

Syria has introduced new measures to ensure transparency in the October 5 parliamentary elections, the Supreme Committee for Parliamentary Elections announced on Monday.

The vote will be the first since the 2021 parliamentary cycle under the former Bashar al-Assad regime and follows decrees issued earlier this year within the temporary electoral framework.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Committee Spokesman Nawar Najmeh explained that polling will be conducted through district-level electoral bodies, with subcommittee heads overseeing proceedings and appeals panels handling objections.

Lawyers will be present at polling centers, and all Syrians — whether inside the country or abroad — will be eligible to vote in their home constituencies. Subcommittees are selecting electoral body members in coordination with community and official representatives, Najmeh added.

“Appeals and public monitoring remain the primary safeguards against ineligible candidates entering the process,” he said, noting that preliminary voter lists will be published to enable challenges.