Damascus, October 7(HS): Syria has announced preliminary results from its first parliamentary elections since the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad, revealing a notably low representation of women and religious minorities in the new legislature.

Speaking at a press conference in Damascus on Monday, electoral spokesman Nawwar Nejmeh confirmed that 119 lawmakers had been chosen through an indirect voting process in which roughly 6,000 members of regional electoral colleges selected candidates from pre-approved lists.

The vote, held on Sunday, will eventually fill 140 of the 210 parliamentary seats, with President Ahmed al-Sharaa set to appoint the remaining third.Election observers report that only six of the newly elected lawmakers are women, while 10 seats have gone to representatives of religious and ethnic minorities, including Kurds, Christians, and two members of the Alawite sect once led by Assad.

Analysts noted that the new parliament is overwhelmingly dominated by Sunni Muslim men.The process drew criticism in the days before the vote, with analysts warning that suspending polling in areas outside government control would leave some communities underrepresented.

Critics also pointed to the highly centralized nature of the candidate selection process as grounds for concern over the inclusivity and fairness of the elections.While official tallies have not yet disclosed vote counts, the composition of the preliminary results is already fueling debate over whether Syria’s post-Assad political landscape can deliver the broader representation many citizens had hoped for.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar