Holding new elections in Syria could take up to four years, rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has said in a broadcast interview.
This is the first time he has given a timeline for possible elections in Syria since his group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a rebel offensive that ousted former President Bashar al-Assad.
In the interview with Saudi state broadcaster Al Arabiya on Sunday, he said drafting a new constitution could take up to three years.
Sharaa said Syria needed to rebuild its legal system and would have to hold a comprehensive population census to run legitimate elections.
Sharaa – previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani – has led the country’s new authorities after the Assad presidency fell earlier this month.
Holding new elections in Syria could take up to four years, rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has said in a broadcast interview.
For the first time since his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led a rebel offensive that overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad, he has provided a timeline for potential elections in Syria.
He claimed that the process of creating a new constitution could take up to three years in an interview with Saudi state broadcaster Al Arabiya on Sunday.
After the Assad regime was overthrown, he said, it might take a year before Syrians start to notice meaningful improvements in public services.
Sharaa said that in order to hold legitimate elections, Syria would need to conduct a thorough population census and rebuild its legal system.
Following the overthrow of Assad earlier this month, Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has been in charge of the nation’s new leadership.
The way HTS will run the multiethnic nation has since come under scrutiny.
Although it has recently distanced itself from its past as a jihadist organization that advocated violence to establish a state governed by Sharia law, HTS was once a jihadist organization.
Sharaa stated that the group, which was formerly associated with al-Qaeda and Islamic State and is classified as a terrorist organization by the UN and numerous other nations, will be “dissolved” at a forthcoming national dialogue conference, but she provided no additional information.
The meeting may be the first attempt to determine whether Syria’s new government can fulfill its pledge to bring the nation together following thirteen years of civil war.
The appointments were “essential” and not intended to exclude anyone, he said in response to criticism of his transitional government.
Alawite Shia, Christians, Druze, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, and Arab Sunnis—the latter of whom comprise the majority of the Muslim population—are among the numerous ethnic and religious groups that call Syria home.
Protecting the freedoms and rights of minorities in the nation is a commitment made by his group.
