Suwayda is at the forefront of a national boycott movement against the Syrian People’s Assembly elections, scheduled for 15th July. Demonstrators from the Druze-majority province, who have been staging anti-regime protests for nearly one year now, are urging eligible voters in regime-controlled areas not to participate in the elections.
Ahead of the vote, local organizers in Suwayda and parts of Daraa launched a protest movement calling for a national boycott of the elections, which was announced by the regime in early May. As the election date approaches, ongoing anti-regime protests in Suwayda are increasingly highlighting the People Assembly’s role in consolidating the Assad regime’s rule over Syria. Ambivalence toward the People’s Assembly under the Ba’ath Party is not new—turnout for Syria’s last parliamentary elections, in 2020, stood at just 33%, the lowest turnout figure to date. The fourth such legislative election since the 2011 uprising, the 2024 parliamentary elections will be similarly stage-managed, yielding no positive changes in how the country is governed moving forwards.
However, the People’s Assembly that will be elected in the current election will be responsible for amending the constitution to extend Bashar al-Assad’s rule, which technically ends in 2028. Although Assad has ruled over Syria since 2000, these sort of amendments are part of the regime’s political theater, with the last one taking place in the 2012 constitution.
Demands for greater political participation and representation were key issues at the heart of the 2011 uprising and remain pressing issues in today’s protests. However, the regime has made no serious steps toward political reform, especially not any like that outlined in UNSC Resolution 2254 (2015). Resolution 2254 serves as the foundation of the international community’s objectives on the Syrian political process, calling for the establishment of “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance” and subsequent free and fair elections. Resolution 2254 also demands the expansion of voting eligibility to members of the diaspora—including those displaced by the conflict.
Protesters in Suwayda are calling for Syrians to boycott the upcoming People’s Assembly elections
— ETANA (@ETANA_Syria) July 12, 2024
📸 | @suwayda24 #Suwayda #Syria pic.twitter.com/BEvNT3FgRT
Ba’ath Control
All politics within Syria takes place under Ba’ath control. The political system is designed to favor outcomes for the Ba’ath Party, which supervises the selection of candidates suitable for election. In many cases, the regime uses this process to reward loyalists. Assad himself decides the allocation of seats for each electoral district, which usually favor regime-friendly areas and do not necessarily correspond to population size.
The 2020 elections also saw more seats granted to regime-aligned ‘businessmen’ who have profited from war- time industries as well as warlords and militia leaders loyal to Assad. These include Assad loyalists such as Hussam Ahmad Rushdi Al-Qaterji, who was sanctioned by the US for his role in overseeing oil and wheat trade deals between the regime and ISIS. This cadre of war profiteers and militia leaders now represent Assad’s core allies and their growing influence is permeating into political, civilian and economic spheres.
At the latest Ba’ath Party conference, Bashar al-Assad made clear his family’s direct dominance over the party by appointing his brother Maher to the Central Committee. Maher commands the 4th Division, which has close ties with Iran and Hezbollah and plays a prominent role in facilitating south Syria’s cross-border drug smuggling networks. Last year, a French court issued arrest warrants charging both brothers with complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, particularly for their roles in the 2013 sarin gas attacks in Eastern Ghouta.
Today, an estimated 6.6 million Syrians are internally displaced while another 6.8 are refugees in neighboring countries, making them ineligible to vote under Law No.5/2014—passed by the regime after the outbreak of the conflict to exclude IDPs, refugees and members of the Syrian diaspora from voting. Elections will only be held in regime-held areas, with candidates approved by regime-selected committees. Moreover, the allocation of parliamentary seats from each province is determined by Assad, who favors regime strongholds near the capital and coastal regions.
2024 Elections
This year, the regime assigned 183 of the 250 parliamentary seats to the Ba’ath Party and regime-friendly parties, leaving just 67 for independent candidates (whose candidacies are still approved by the regime- linked committees). The most recent legislative election, held in 2020 after several delays due to COVID- 19, saw just a voter turnout of just 33.17%, according to data compiled by IPU Parline.
The 2024 parliamentary elections could have been an opportunity for the regime to take serious steps towards a competitive electoral process, were it interested in demonstrating serious behavior change. However, under the Assads and the Ba’ath Party, the regime has spent decades isolating citizens from national politics. Today, fewer than ever are eligible to vote. Under the Assads, decisions about the fate of Syria and Syrians has never been put to the Syrian populace. By urging a boycott of the legislative elections, protesters are calling attention to the regime’s refusal to meet any demands of the 2011 protests, the current protests or engage in any serious political reform as outlined in Resolution 2254.
