Syria to hold 1st post-Assad parliamentary polls on Oct 5

Syria will hold parliamentary elections next month, the first polls since last year’s ouster of the Bashar al-Assad regime, the election commission announced on Sunday. In a statement, the commission said the vote will take place in all constituencies on October 5. Under a presidential decree issued by President Ahmad al-Sharaa on August 27, 140 of the 210 members of the People’s Assembly (parliament) will be elected, while 70 will be directly appointed by the president. Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia last December, bringing an end to the Ba'ath Party’s rule that had lasted since 1963. A transitional administration headed by al-Sharaa was formed in January. According to the state-run SANA news agency, the new...