Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday signed the country’s constitutional declaration, which will be enforced throughout a five-year transitional period.
The declaration comes three months after opposition forces toppled Bashar al-Assad’s repressive regime, leading to calls both inside and outside the country for an inclusive new Syria that respects rights.
Al-Sharaa said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the start of “a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice,” as he signed the document setting out the transitional period.
The declaration enshrines women’s “social, political and economic rights,” said Abdul Hamid al-Awak, a member of the committee that drafted the declaration.
It also stipulates the “absolute separation of powers,” al-Awak said, pointing to toppled president al-Assad’s “encroachment.”
It gives the president a sole exceptional power, that of declaring a state of emergency.
He added that the people’s assembly, a third of which will be appointed by the president, would be tasked with all legislation.
A supreme electoral committee would be formed to oversee the election of remaining members of the legislature.
Executive power would also be restricted to the president in the transitional period, al-Awak said, pointing to the need for “rapid action to confront any difficulties.”
He added that the declaration also guarantees the “freedom of opinion, expression and the press.”
In late January, al-Sharaa promised a “constitutional declaration” to serve as a “legal reference” during the country’s transitional period.
He then announced in early March the formation of a committee to draft the declaration that “regulates the transitional phase,” including two women.
In late January, al-Sharaa, then the leader of the “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS) group which spearheaded al-Assad’s overthrow, was appointed interim president for an unspecified period.
Syria’s new authorities repealed the al-Assad-era constitution and dissolved the parliament.
Agencies
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