Voting concluded on Sunday in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province and the town of Ain al-Arab (Kobane) , marking the final stage in forming the country’s first parliament since the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad .
Ballot counting began after polling stations closed in the constituencies of Hasakah, Qamishli and Ain al-Arab. The vote decided the final 11 seats in the new People’s Assembly.
The elections are among the clearest signs yet of Damascus attempting to reintegrate northeastern Syria into national state institutions.
The region had remained under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) until fighting and subsequent agreements earlier this year returned large parts of it to central government authority.
"Although the People’s Assembly elections were not representative elections for Syrians in the full sense... they are still the best available option given the situation in Syria," Syrian journalist Absi Someisem told The New Arab .
He said security and demographic realities still make fully democratic nationwide elections difficult, with millions of Syrians either displaced internally or living abroad as refugees.
Nine seats were allocated to Hasakah province and two to Ain al-Arab in Aleppo province.
According to Syria’s Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, seven candidates competed for four seats in Qamishli. In Hasakah, 13 candidates contested three seats. In Ain al-Arab, 12 candidates competed for two seats.
The committee said turnout rates were high. Spokesperson Nawar Najma told state news agency SANA that participation reached 75 percent in Qamishli, 92 percent in Hasakah and 95 percent in Ain al-Arab.
Internal security forces were heavily deployed around polling centres, particularly in Ain al-Arab and Qamishli, according to Syria TV and local reports.
While parliamentary elections under Assad were widely seen as tightly controlled and dominated by the ruling Ba'ath Party, the new system under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa remains only partially representative.
Most parliamentary seats are selected through electoral colleges rather than direct public voting, while the president appoints one-third of lawmakers directly.
Still, many Syrians and observers see the process as part of a broader transitional effort to rebuild state institutions after more than a decade of war and fragmentation.
Someisem argued that the importance of the new parliament lies less in the electoral process itself and more in Syria’s urgent need for legislation regulating political and civil life.
"There is a need for a political parties law, a law regulating the work of organisations and associations, a law governing trade unions, a media law, and other legislation, the absence of which has paralysed political and civil life," he said.
He also described the recent dissolution of Syria’s General Secretariat for Political Affairs as "a positive step toward facilitating the work of the People’s Assembly and building a state based on the rule of law and legislative authority".
The parliamentary vote in the northeast also carries symbolic significance because of the region’s large Kurdish population and years of semi-autonomous governance under the SDF.
Someisem said the presidentially appointed third of parliament could help ensure broader inclusion.
"I also believe that the nature of the one-third of members to be appointed by the president, in terms of competence and representation of marginalised groups, could greatly help shape the features of the next People’s Assembly," he said. Hopes for greater representation Despite the progress, many still hope for greater representation and for their voices to be heard by officials.
Speaking to the Associated Press from Qamishli, voter Mukhalaf al-Hatthal said residents hoped the new parliament would address major local concerns.
"We want representatives who will amplify the voices of people in Hasakah," he said. He added that infrastructure, agriculture and maintaining peace were among the key priorities.
Another electoral college member, Masoud al-Majeed, expressed hope that Syria’s electoral system would eventually become more representative, saying the current model "does not represent everyone".
According to Syria’s constitutional declaration governing the transitional phase, the new People’s Assembly will hold legislative authority until a permanent constitution is adopted and new elections are held under it.
Officials cited by Syria TV said parliament is expected to convene after the Eid al-Adha holiday once final procedures are completed.