The new parliament of the new Syria: more technocrats than Islamists and almost no women

DamascusThe day after The Syrian parliamentary elections, held in a calm and uneventful atmosphere, the new political map is beginning to take shape. The results show, above all, the continuity of central power disguised as renewal: technocrats close to the authorities and local conservative figures predominate, while legal political parties and opposition movements remain absent and practically invisible.

In Damascus, not a single seat has gone to a woman. At the national level, Only 3% of the elected seats will be occupied by women, while 14% of the candidates were women. The big question now is whether the president Ahmad Al Sharaa will use its appointive power to compensate for this imbalance, or if the chamber will remain almost entirely male, reflecting a system that continues to exclude half of the population.

Voting did not take place in regions such as Raqqa, Hasaka, or Suwayda, where the process has been postponed for security reasons. These districts remain, for the time being, outside parliamentary representation—a reflection of the territorial fragmentation that still marks the country and highlights the difficulty of consolidating an inclusive national policy. In practice, this reinforces the perception that the electoral process serves more to project legitimacy than to generate actual participation.

In the corridors of one of the local committees that select two-thirds of the deputies, an organizing member describes the process as an "unprecedented moment": "We have tried to ensure that all sectors are represented – doctors, engineers, teachers. It is the first time that many of these profiles have made the leap. However, most of those chosen maintain close ties to the authorities, which raises doubts about the independence of the new chamber.

El Bilal, a doctor by training and one of those chosen, says: "For a long time, this country has been governed by closed logic. Today we feel that there is room for new ideas and different ways of working. It won't be easy, but at least it opens a door." The statement sounds promising, but outside political circles, the feeling is one of disconnection and widespread mistrust.

In a café in the capital's old town, a middle-aged resident comments: "People want dignity, honesty, and someone thinking about us, not just their own." A university student sums up the feeling of many young people: "I don't know who ran for my district or what their ideas are. There were no debates or clear information. I feel excluded." In working-class neighborhoods, the skepticism is even more evident. A man sitting at the entrance to his building laments: "I don't know anything, not even who won here. No one tells us anything. And that worries me."

A facelift that stages the modernization of institutions

The new Parliament combines familiar faces from the establishment with independent technocrats and some local figures with community influence. Religious minorities maintain their share of representation in regions such as the coast or parts of Homs, although without significant progress. The balance between Islamists and technocrats is tilted toward the latter, which analysts interpret as an attempt by the regime to project institutional modernization without altering the foundations of real power. Islamists linked to traditional structures have reduced their room for maneuver, especially in urban areas under the firm control of Damascus.

The third of deputies directly appointed by the Presidency could reconfigure the internal balance, although the margins of real autonomy remain limited. The fourth will have a thirty-month mandate, until elections with direct vote are called. The true test will not be the composition of this assembly, but whether this process opens real spaces for participation or if everything remains under the control of a closed system and a de facto which continues to define the rules of the game.

On the streets, expectations are modest: jobs, basic services, and representatives who listen. In the offices, the discourse is technical and modernizing. The true scope of this assembly will be determined between these two realities: whether it will be a path to change or simply a disguised continuity with new faces will be revealed in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Syria begins its new parliamentary term between the cautious hope of those who see an opportunity for renewal and the skepticism of those who perceive that formal politics remains far from their lives, and that real decision-making remains strictly concentrated in the executive branch.