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A presidential election in Syria is planned to take place within five years of the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. [1] Until then, Syria will be governed by a transitional government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa. [2]
In May 2021, Ba'athist Syria under Bashar al-Assad conducted its final presidential election, which he won by a landslide with over 95% of the popular vote. [3] The election was widely dismissed internationally as an illegitimate sham election marked by substantial electoral fraud. [4] Assad ultimately did not complete his term; his government collapsed on 8 December 2024 following renewed Syrian opposition offensives led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) amid the Syrian civil war. [5] [6]
Ahmed al-Sharaa subsequently became the country's de facto leader as the head of HTS. [7] On 9 December, HTS released a video featuring al-Sharaa, then–Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-JalalI, and Mohammed al-Bashir, the Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government. [8] On the same day, following the fall of the Assad regime, as the head of the de facto government in Idlib, al-Bashir was tasked with forming a transitional government after meeting with al-Sharaa and outgoing Prime Minister al-Jalali to coordinate the transfer of power. [9] [10] The next day, al-Bashir was officially appointed by the General Command of Syria as the prime minister of the caretaker government. [11] [12]
On 29 January 2025, during the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, Hassan Abdul Ghani, the spokesman of the rebels' Military Operations Command, announced the appointment of al-Sharaa as the president of Syria. [13] Abdul Ghani stated that al-Sharaa would govern the country during the transitional period, assume the duties of the president, and represent the nation on the international stage. [14] [15]
In March 2025, al-Sharaa ratified a Constitutional Declaration for the transitional period, establishing Syria as a presidential republic without a prime minister, setting a five-year transition period, [16] and announcing the formation of a transitional government. [17]
Shortly after the fall of the Assad regime, Hadi al-Bahra, president of the Syrian National Coalition, said that an 18-month transitional period was needed to establish "a safe, neutral, and quiet environment" for free elections, as outlined in the UNSC Resolution 2254. [18] However, the newly declared president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, stated that elections would need at least four to five years to take place, citing the need to first re-establish the infrastructure for elections by holding a comprehensive population census and drafting a constitution, which he estimated "may take two or three years." [1] [19] [20]
In a meeting with al-Sharaa, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot and German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock urged Syria's new leadership to avoid undue delays in holding elections. [21]
In a September 2025 interview with 60 Minutes , al-Sharaa said elections would be held once Syria's infrastructure and citizens' records are restored. He stated that he wants Syria to be a place where every person can vote. [22]
On 6 December 2025, at the Doha Forum, al-Sharaa told Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s Chief International Anchor, that the national dialogue conference held after the liberation had resulted in a temporary constitutional declaration granting him a five-year mandate to pass new laws and draft a new constitution ahead of elections scheduled in four years. [23]
The election result is a foregone conclusion, and does little to build relations with Western governments. But it is a useful tool for the Syrian regime to project legitimacy with governments in the region.
Ahmed al-Sharaa has been Syria's de facto leader since leading the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad
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