Syria’s interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that puts the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase.
Sharaa said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the beginning of “a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice … and suffering with mercy”.
The nation’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of Syria since the Islamist former insurgent group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led a lightning insurgency that overthrew Assad in December.
While many were happy to see an end to the Assad family’s dictatorial rule of more than 50 years in the war-torn country, religious and ethnic minorities have been sceptical of the new Islamist leaders and reluctant to allow Damascus under its new authorities to assert control of their areas.
Abdulhamid Al-Awak, one of the seven members of the committee Sharaa tasked to draft the temporary constitution, told a news conference Thursday that it would maintain some provisions from the previous one, including the stipulation that the head of state has to be a Muslim, and that Islamic law is the main source of jurisprudence.
But Awak, a constitutional law expert who teaches at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey, also said that the temporary constitution includes provisions that enshrine freedom of expression and the media.
It also stipulates the “absolute separation of powers”, he said, pointing to toppled president Assad’s “encroachment” on other branches of government.
It gives the president a sole exceptional power: declaring a state of emergency.
The constitution will “balance between social security and freedom” during Syria’s shaky political situation, Awak said.
A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it is unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria’s political, religious and ethnic groups.
Long road ahead
Sharaa on Monday reached a landmark pact with the US-backed Kurdish-led authorities in northeastern Syria, including a ceasefire and a merging of their armed forces with the central government’s security agencies.
The deal came after government forces and allied groups crushed an insurgency launched last week by gunmen loyal to Assad. Rights groups say that hundreds of civilians – mostly from the Alawite minority sect to which Assad belongs – were killed in retaliatory attacks by factions in the counteroffensive.
A key goal of the interim constitution was to give a timeline for the country’s political transition out of its interim phase. In December, Sharaa said that it could take up to three years to rewrite Syria’s constitution and up to five years to organise and hold elections.
Read moreSyria’s interim president says organising elections could take up to five years
Sharaa appointed a committee to draft the new constitution after Syria held a national dialogue conference last month, which called for announcing a temporary constitution and holding an interim parliamentary election. Critics said that the hastily organised conference wasn’t inclusive of Syria’s different ethnic and sectarian groups or civil society.
The United States and Europe have been hesitant to lift harsh sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule until they are convinced that the new leaders will create an inclusive political system and protect minorities.
Sharaa and regional governments have been urging them to reconsider, fearing that the country’s crumbling economy could bring further instability.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP)
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