Syria is likely to hold its presidential elections in nearly two decades following the 2011 civil war that killed an estimated 800,000 to 1 million people.
The parliamentary elections will be held next month, the first polls since last year’s ouster of the former President Bashar al-Assad, said the election commission.
The commission stated in a press release that the vote will be held in all constituencies on October 5.
As per the presidential decree issued by the interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, on August 27, 140 out of 210 members of the people’s assembly (parliament) will be elected, while 70 will be directly appointed by al-Sharaa himself.
Assad, who ruled the country for 25 years, fled to Russia last December, ending the Ba’ath party regime, which had remained in power for more than 60 years in the country.
The country fell into a devastating civil war in 2011, which killed hundreds of thousands while leaving millions of people homeless.
The war in Syria triggered one of the biggest refugee crises after World War II. Approximately 13 million people, which is 55 per cent of the pre-war population in Syria, were forced to flee, with more than 6 million people fleeing to neighbouring nations.
Meanwhile, after the downfall of the Regime and the defeat of ISIS at the hands of the coalition forces, Syrians started making their way back to the country to reconstruct their lives.
The country has often witnessed a spurt of violence in relatively tense areas where ethnic clashes are relatively more likely to take place, such as in Suwaida and Damascus.
The upcoming elections in the country are seen as another pivotal moment as Syria tries to shun its violent past.
A new transitional administration led by al-Sharaa was formed in January.
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