Parliamentary elections were held in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

to elect the People's Council on 13 April 2016, electing members for the 2016–2020 parliamentary term.

Background

Amidst nearly five years of civil war and ensuing negotiations for a ceasefire, following the Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War and Syrian Arab Army gains, President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

called the election. At the time of the election, Idlib Governorate was almost entirely outside government control, as it was controlled by rebels. Raqqa Governorate and Deir ez-Zor Governorate were mostly occupied by ISIL. As such, elections did not take place in these provinces. Parts of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

, and Daraa governorates were also held by anti-government forces at the time of the election. Rojava had also been semi-autonomous since the civil war began.

Electoral system

All 250 members of the People's Council were elected from 15 multi-member constituencies in

general ticket The general ticket or party block voting (PBV), is a type of block voting in which voters opt for a party or a team of candidates, and the highest-polling party/team becomes the winner and receives 100% of the seats for this multi-member distric ...

Results

The Ba'ath Party-led National Progressive Front won 200 of the 250 seats, while the opposition inside and outside the country boycotted the elections; voter turnout was 57.56%. Two

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

were elected to the People's Council.

Reactions

* – Martin Schaefer, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry has announced that

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

would not accept the results of the election. He stated that "holding free and fair elections is simply impossible in the current situation, with all the refugees, in a full civil war situation." * – John Kirby, spokesman for the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

has announced that the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

believes the elections to not be credible, fair or free. He cited the departure of many citizens as a result of the Syrian Civil War.

References

{{Syrian Civil War 2016 in the Syrian civil war Parliamentary elections in Syria

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results