Local elections were held across

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

on 16 September 2018 to elect 18,478 local council members in 88 electoral districts. More than 40,000 to 41,000 candidates contested the elections according to pro-government sources. The elections were the first held since the 2011 Syrian local elections and took place amid the Syrian civil war. The elections only took place in territories under the control of the

Syrian government Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syr ...

, with special constituencies set up for areas outside of government control. The Syrian government claimed that there was "good turnout" in the election, although this has been disputed.

Background

Candidates

Between 40,000 and 41,000 candidates contested the elections. The majority of the candidates were from the

Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...

-led National Progressive Front under the ''National Unity List'', while 30% of candidates were independents. Legal opposition parties such as the Syrian National Youth Party and the Syria Watan Party criticized the elections for not being fully democratic and did not stand any candidates. Some candidates from non-Ba'athist National Progressive Front parties withdrew in opposition to Ba'athist domination of the organization.

Results

The Ministry of Local Affairs claimed that turnout of the election was 56%, although some sources say that turnout was lower at 26.5%. The

dominated the election and won in many areas by default.

References

Local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

2010s in Syrian politics Local elections in Syria {{syria-stub