The Syrian people have not experienced free and fair multiparty elections for fifty-four years, as the electoral law was designed to ensure the monopoly of power by the dual leadership of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad across all levels (legislative, executive, and judicial). Following the change and the transition phase led by President Ahmad al-Shara, conducting elections is one of the most crucial steps towards establishing lasting civil peace. This can be achieved by creating a democratic environment that encourages political and social factions to compete within the political arena and at the ballot box.

Tasks of the Transitional Phase to Establish the New Political System

After the decisions of the military council meeting on January 29 and the president's announcement on the 30th, the role of the legislative council and the provisional constitutional declaration in the transitional phase, along with the national dialogue conference, is crucial for transitioning from "revolutionary legitimacy" to "constitutional legitimacy," meaning from revolution to state. This is especially relevant after the president stated, "until we reach free and fair elections," which necessitates the issuance of a set of laws paving the way for these elections, including: laws for the formation of political parties and civil society organizations, an electoral law, and the establishment of an independent body to oversee all phases of the elections.


All of this aims to guarantee pluralistic elections that represent various community and political components, based on the principle that sovereignty belongs to the people, and that no individual, group, or party can monopolize it; it is exercised through democratic elections ensured by a fair electoral law that relies on proportional representation, thus guaranteeing the broadest political and social participation.

Transitional institutions play a prominent role in cementing the new permanent pluralistic political system, particularly in their ability to encourage the formation of broad national coalitions among various political and social factions through an electoral system that promotes inclusive participation via proportional representation in rebuilding the future Syria. The fourteen years of the revolution for freedom and dignity have revealed sharp polarizations in Syrian society, as well as national and sectarian fractures, which prompts us to seek the best ways to ensure fair representation for different factions.

Designing electoral standards positively impacts civil peace in post-conflict societies, and the literature on democratic transition shows a significant consensus that proportional representation is a preferable system due to its potential to revive political life. 

Key Transitional Institutions Relevant for Ensuring Free and Fair Elections:
- Transitional Governance Authority Led by the President:

 This authority prepares the national scene politically, media-wise, and security-wise for conducting parliamentary, presidential, and municipal elections that will transition Syria to a constitutional state. Its role includes overseeing the establishment of transitional institutions to put the state on the path to stability, ultimately leading to the entrenchment of the democratic political system. To reach this stage, the Transitional Governance Authority must prioritize forming broad coalitions among various political and social factions.
  
- Temporary Legislative Council:
Formed by the transitional president from individuals with legal, economic, and social political expertise in a consensual manner that respects the presence of all components of Syrian society. Its tasks include preparing a transitional constitutional declaration, drafting a permanent constitution to be submitted for public referendum, and creating an electoral law based on geographic division of electoral districts according to proportional representation that guarantees the widest participation in elections, along with formulating laws for the formation of political parties and civil organizations, and a media law, all of which must be approved by the legislative council.
  
- Independent Election Authority:
Composed of judges, lawyers, and public affairs activists known for their integrity, credibility, competency, and nationalism, it oversees all phases of the elections, from the voter registry to the counting of votes and announcing results, according to the electoral law approved by the council. Its executive office should be based in the capital, Damascus, with branches across all Syrian provinces.

Standards and Institutions for Ensuring Free and Fair Elections

Consensus on a new electoral system requires consideration of the unique Syrian situation following years of bloodshed that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and the fragmentation of social structures. The goal is proportional representation for all components in various power structures, based on national reconciliation, along with effective government performance. To ensure this, the following standards must be met:

1. Proportional Representation:

Designing electoral standards positively affects civil peace in post-conflict societies, with the literature on democratic transition showing a significant consensus that a proportional representation system is preferable for its capacity to revive political life, thereby increasing participation rates in elections and producing a participatory authority that ensures all parties have a stake in the decision-making process, leading to necessary balance and moderate, effective policies. Consequently, adopting proportional representation will help Syria embark on a new beginning, not only in political life, sustainable development, and reconstruction but also in overcoming the structural obstacles characteristic of the Assad regime that led to the popular movement for freedom and dignity in March 2011.

 

2 - The integrity of the elections, which is linked to monitoring their organization in its various stages, so that state employees should not supervise them, or participate in counting and sorting voters' votes. Manipulating elections is considered one of the obstacles to democratic transformation, and thus returning to an authoritarian regime. In order to prevent this, care must be taken to: transparency, accuracy, and accountability in all stages of the electoral process.

In order to ensure the freedom and integrity of elections, internationally recognized standards must be adhered to, including:
Recognizing the right to run for office and vote for all citizens.
Secrecy of the vote and establishing guarantees for this.

The existence of an independent election administration.

Providing independent oversight of all stages of the electoral process by civil society organizations, local, regional, and international, including supervision by the United Nations.

3 - Guidelines for election administration, as the election law is considered the legal framework that regulates the electoral process in all its stages, which the Syrian Independent Election Commission adopts in all stages of the process (registering candidates and voters and preparing their credentials, determining electoral districts, establishing ballot boxes, distributing boxes to electoral districts, voting, sorting, and auditing).
In order to ensure all the previous stages, so that the elections are free and fair, care must be taken to enable Syrian citizens, wherever they are, to participate in holding the elections at all levels: municipal, parliamentary and presidential.

Dr. Abdullah Turkmani