Syria’s interim president has signed a constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase.
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, led an insurgency that overthrew long-time President Bashar Assad in December.
Former HTS leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa is now the country’s interim president — a decision that was announced after a meeting of the armed groups that took part in the offensive against Assad.
At the same meeting, the groups agreed to repeal the country’s old constitution and said a new one would be drafted.
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 skeptical of the new Islamist leaders and reluctant to allow Damascus under its new authorities to assert control of their areas.
The constitution will “balance between social security and freedom” during Syria’s shaky political situation, he said.
A new committee to draft a permanent constitution will be formed, but it’s unclear if it will be more inclusive of Syria’s political, religious and ethnic groups.
Al-Sharaa on Monday reached a landmark pact with the US-backed Kurdish-led authorities in north-eastern 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.
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, Al-Sharaa said that it could take up to three years to rewrite Syria’s constitution and up to five years to organize and hold elections.
Al-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-organized conference wasn’t inclusive of Syria’s different ethnic and sectarian groups or civil society.
