After the announcement of the list of 70 members appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Syrian People's Assembly is preparing to hold its first session nearly two years since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
The announcement coincided with Syrian People's Assembly Higher Elections Committee head Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad setting Monday as the date for the first session.
But on Sunday, 5 July, it was announced that the opening of the assembly's work had been postponed to an unspecified date. How does the Assembly operate? The temporary constitutional declaration, issued in March 2025, outlined the structure of the Syrian People's Assembly, stating that no member may be dismissed except with "the approval of two-thirds of its members", while "a member of the People's Assembly enjoys parliamentary immunity ".
According to Article 26 of the declaration, the Syrian People's Assembly assumes "legislative authority until the adoption of a permanent constitution and the holding of new legislative elections in accordance with it", with "the term of the People's Assembly lasting 30 months and being renewable".
The assembly is required to elect a speaker, two deputy speakers and a secretary during its first meeting through "a secret ballot and by majority vote", with the first session chaired by the oldest member.
The Syrian People's Assembly is also required to prepare "its internal bylaws within one month of its first session".
Its duties are defined as "proposing and approving laws, amending or repealing previous laws, and ratifying international treaties".
The assembly also approves the state's general budget and general amnesties and holds hearings with ministers, with its decisions adopted by majority vote. The Assembly's composition The current composition of the Syrian People's Assembly varies in terms of provincial and social representation.
It has 206 members, including dignitaries and community leaders represented by tribal sheikhs, local notables, academics and professionals.
The assembly includes 136 elected members, with three seats for Suwayda province remaining vacant, along with one seat allocated to the late elected MP Mustafa Kulthum, who represented the Jisr al-Shughur area in Idlib province.
They are joined by the 70 members appointed by al-Sharaa on 1 July 2026 under Decree No. 143 of 2026.
Among the assembly's main functions are overseeing the executive authority, representing the people and carrying out legislative duties.
The oversight role is one of the principal reasons for the existence of the Syrian People's Assembly, MP Mohammed Ballas told The New Arab, because it represents the people's voice in monitoring government performance and correcting mistakes.
"As members of the People's Assembly, and personally, I look forward to exercising an oversight role over officials based on accountability and transparency, free from favouritism or unjustified escalation," he said.
Ballas said he expected this role to be carried out by monitoring government plans and projects, discussing ministers' performance, listening to citizens' complaints, and ensuring that state resources, especially during the initial period, are managed efficiently.
He also said the assembly would seek to ensure that government promises are translated into tangible results on the ground.
"I believe our work should not obstruct government performance but rather support the government's success and correct mistakes. We are at the beginning of building the state, and mistakes are natural, but it is not natural for those mistakes to continue," he added.
He further noted, "We evaluate the government's performance when it makes mistakes and support it when it succeeds."
According to Ballas, the most important aspect of the assembly's role is to become a genuine institution that lays the foundations for the new Syria and a phase based on accountability, transparency and serving the people.
He said Syria needs strong institutions rather than symbolic ones, as the Syrian People's Assembly had been under the Assad regime.
He stressed that the state needs institutions that fulfil their oversight and legislative roles.
Regarding the framework within which the assembly will operate, he said it would focus on consolidating the rule of law, explaining that the values of freedom and dignity cannot be compromised under any circumstances.
"We will work to consolidate the rule of law and institutions, strengthen transparency and accountability, and issue legislation that keeps pace with the Syrian situation," Ballas said.
He pointed to the sensitivity of the situation in Syria , as the country is going through an exceptional period with the launch of the assembly's first term following the completion of its membership.
He also said the process of establishing the assembly would not be easy, noting that the public has a fixed perception of the body dating back to the Baath regime era before its fall, when it was seen as a symbolic institution and a place for applause and theatrics rather than a genuine one.
"Therefore, to overcome the stereotypical image of the People's Assembly, we will work to repair the relationship between citizens and the state. Syria needs solidarity above all else, and it needs genuine institutions that reflect the Syrian reality and the people's desire for legislative and oversight institutions that are real," he explained.
Ballas said he, like the rest of the assembly's members, aspires to be the voice of Syrians under its dome, as it is the first assembly after liberation in the Third Republic, and he hopes it will help build the institutional state that Syrians deserve after all the sacrifices they have made. Measuring the quality of legislation Syria is going through a transitional phase , making the role of the current Syrian People's Assembly different from its role under a stable constitutional system, lawyer Basel Saeed Manea told The New Arab. Manea said that, under the constitutional declaration, the assembly's primary role is currently to enact, amend or repeal laws in line with the requirements of the transitional period.
Its responsibilities also include approving the general budget, ratifying treaties, approving general amnesties and discussing issues related to its jurisdiction.
Given the transitional period and the constitutional declaration currently in force, the assembly's powers are focused primarily on the legislative function, according to Manea.
He said it is a partner of the executive authority in the legislative process, while the executive enjoys broader powers than those usually found in stable constitutional systems.
The second issue worth discussing, according to Manea, is the limits of the assembly's oversight role.
"If we read Article 30 of the constitutional declaration, we find that it does not grant the People's Assembly traditional parliamentary oversight tools, such as votes of confidence in the government, withdrawing confidence from a minister, or binding interrogations that result in political accountability. Under the current text, its oversight powers are limited to holding hearings with ministers," he said.
Manea said this highlights an important legal distinction: A hearing allows a minister to present policies and answer questions from assembly members, but it does not give the Syrian People's Assembly constitutional means to compel the government or hold it politically accountable, as is the case in parliaments with full powers.
He added, "Therefore, it can be said that the People's Assembly during the transitional period is a legislative authority with limited oversight powers, and its influence over government performance depends more on the strength of public debate and political pressure than on binding constitutional tools."
Manea argued that the current stage facing the country requires several legislative priorities.
These include reforming the judiciary, strengthening judicial independence and accelerating case resolution, updating the Local Administration Law and granting provinces and local councils broader powers, and issuing or developing laws governing political parties and civil society organisations.
It also requires updating investment laws to provide a stable and attractive legal environment for capital; strengthening anti-corruption and illicit enrichment legislation with effective oversight mechanisms; and addressing property and real estate issues, particularly disputes linked to the war years, including the Rent Law and statutory lease extensions.
Furthermore, he highlighted the need to update commercial and banking laws in line with the requirements of the modern economy.
Manea said another urgent step required from the Syrian People's Assembly is establishing a legal framework for transitional justice and reparations if the state decides to adopt that path.
He also called for reviewing laws related to public freedoms, the media and civil society in line with the new phase once political consensus is achieved.
"The assembly is expected to review legislation inherited from the previous period, retain what remains valid, and repeal or amend what no longer suits the new political and economic reality," he added.
In his view, "The success of the People's Assembly will not be measured by the number of laws it passes but by the quality of those laws, their applicability, and their ability to address the real problems facing the state and society".
He considered one of the most important tests facing the assembly to be its ability to make the best possible use of its current powers.
Despite the constitutional declaration granting it limited oversight tools, he said it can make hearings more serious and effective, while enhancing transparency and public debate over the executive authority's performance. No comparison with Assad era Academic and political researcher Mohammed al-Mustafa said the Syrian People's Assembly is the product of a newly established state that emerged after the end of the Assad regime.
Speaking to The New Arab , he stressed that no comparison can be made between the assembly under the Assad regime and its current form.
He said the Assad regime monopolised decision-making through the security services and a one-party system from the moment Hafez al-Assad came to power until the fall of the regime of his son Bashar, without allowing the assembly any genuine role.
In this regard, al-Mustafa said the priority is to build the assembly on a solid foundation so that its institutional base is strong.
"There are certainly differing expectations regarding what this assembly can achieve, and assessing its performance will take time. Only then will it be possible to make a realistic judgement about this assembly and its role in the new Syria ," he added. Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .