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Syria’s Constitutional Declaration Sparks Debate

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

DAMASCUS (Worthy News) – Syria was preparing for an imminent “constitutional declaration” that was likely to worry Christians and other minorities.

The country’s interim President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, canceled the constitution of ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, warning that rewriting it could “take up to three years.”

He said “a committee of experts,” including two women, will draft “the constitutional declaration that regulates the transitional phase” in Syria.

The new authorities are focused on rebuilding Syria and its institutions after Assad’s removal on December 8, which they say will end more than half a century of his family’s iron-fisted rule and 13 years of devastating war.

To critics, Saraa seems autocratic after he said that organizing elections could take up to five years.

Leaked details of the constitutional declaration also included a stipulation that Syria’s president “must be a Muslim,” excluding Christians from the job.

Syria’s president will be required to appoint the People’s Assembly, the parliament, within 60 days of issuing the constitutional declaration, Worthy News monitored.

100 MEMBERS

The Assembly has 100 members, ensuring “fair representation of various groups and efficiency.”

Under the constitutional declaration, the president must appoint the assembly members by decree for two years.

Additionally, the constitutional declaration states that Syria’s leader serves as the commander-in-chief of the army and armed forces, according to sources familiar with the deliberations.

Syrians, including Christians and Kurds, have expressed concerns about “the lack of inclusivity” despite claims from new leaders emphasizing its importance.

In some areas, Shariah or Islamic law has already been declared since Assad’s ouster last year, Worthy News learned.

Most members of the committee preparing the constitutional declaration are linked to the transitional government, dominated by former members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist rebel group that played a key role in toppling Assad’s regime on December 8.

They include Abdul Hamid al-Awak, who holds a doctorate in constitutional law and lectures at a university in Turkey, and Yasser al-Huwaish, who was appointed this year as dean of Damascus University’s law faculty.

TWO WOMEN

Among other committee members is Bahia Mardini, a journalist with a doctorate in law who has lived in Britain—one of two women on the panel.

Others include Ismail al-Khalfan, who holds a doctorate in law specializing in international law and who, this year, was appointed law faculty dean at Aleppo University, well-informed sources said.

Another committee member, Mohammed Reda Jalkhi, has a doctorate in law specializing in international law from Idlib University, where he graduated in 2023.

Although President Saraa says he permits the formation of political parties, they must be based on a “national principle” under a future law.

That adds to critics’ concerns about a possible lack of democratic oversight at a crucial juncture in Syria’s history.