"Syria has published the results of its first parliamentary election since the government of former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled, revealing that most new members of the revamped People's Assembly are Sunni Muslim and male. Electoral commission spokesperson Nawar Najmeh told a press conference on Monday that only four percent of the 119 members selected in the indirect vote were women and only two Christians were among the winners, sparking concerns about inclusivity and fairness."
"The authorities resorted to an indirect voting system rather than universal suffrage, alluding to a lack of reliable population data following the war, which killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians and displaced millions. Sunni Muslims make up an estimated 75 percent of Syrians. The former al-Assad regime, which was overthrown in December after a nearly 14-year civil war, was largely headed by Syrians from the Alawite minority."
Syria published results of its first parliamentary election since the overthrow of the al-Assad government, showing most new People's Assembly members are Sunni Muslim and male. Only four percent of the 119 members chosen in the indirect vote were women, and only two Christians won seats. Around 6,000 regional electoral-college members selected candidates from preapproved lists to fill nearly two-thirds of the 210-seat body; the president will appoint the remaining third. Authorities used an indirect voting system, citing unreliable population data after a war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. Votes were postponed in some Druze and Kurdish areas, and critics warn the process favors well-connected figures and may concentrate power with the new rulers.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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