Syrian government holds parliamentary election
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Syrians in the government-held areas started on Monday to head to the ballot boxes to elect new members for the parliament.
There are 1,516 government-approved candidates running this year for the 250-seat Syrian parliament.
Some 8,151 polling stations were set up in 15 voting districts in government-held areas.
Unlike presidential elections, millions of Syrians who have left the country due to the decade-long conflict are not eligible to vote.
On Sunday, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), announced boycotting the parliamentary elections held by the Syrian government.
The SDC called for creating a suitable ground for a real political transition, and urged the Syrian people and all actors to refrain from participating in the election.
This is the fourth parliamentary election since the start of the Syrian conflict.
In the Druze-majority governorates of southern Syria, many called for a boycott of the election. The people took to the streets to protest the election, and they seized ballot boxes off a truck in an attempt to stop them arriving to polling stations.
The opposition Syrian Interim Government which is the political wing of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), and the Salvation Government that is the political and administrative wing of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) announced boycotting the election run by the Syrian government.