AANES describes Syrian parliamentary elections as exclusionary, illegitimate
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Co-Chair of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said on Wednesday that the upcoming Syrian parliamentary elections, which the Syrian transitional government is preparing for, are disappointing and lack legitimacy in their current form.
Hussein Othman, Co-Chair of the AANES’ Executive Council, told North Press the decision was “shocking and disappointing,” adding that the people of northeastern Syria felt “completely excluded from what is happening in Syria.”
He rejected the decision to postpone elections in northeastern regions under the pretext of security concerns, stressing, “AANES regions, according to reports and even international studies, are considered among the most secure areas in Syria.”
“This is thanks to the military forces, the security forces, and the solidarity of the people of this region with the existing security bodies,” he said, adding that the security and living conditions in these areas are excellent and do not justify postponing the elections on security grounds.
On Aug. 23, the Supreme Committee for People’s Assembly Elections announced that the electoral process would be postponed in Suwayda, Hasakah, and Raqqa governorates.
Othman argued that describing northeastern Syria as unsafe damages the reputation of the region, is rejected by its residents in all their diversity, and represents a continuation of the policies of exclusion and marginalization that Syrians have endured for decades.
He emphasized that the country needs a comprehensive national project inclusive of all citizens, pointing out that the planned elections “will neither be democratic nor transparent, nor will they reflect genuine representation of Syrians—especially with the exclusion of Raqqa, Hasakah, and parts of Deir ez-Zor.”
“Elections in their current form are illegitimate and do not represent all citizens. Any decision issued by a parliament in which the people of these regions are absent will not be binding on them,” Othman noted.
He added that this form of exclusion recalls “the policies once pursued by the Ba’ath Party, which described these areas as remote,” stressing the need for a comprehensive review of the political process to prevent repeating the mistakes of the past.