DAMASCUS: The results of Syria’s parliamentary elections, announced Thursday, showed that President Bashar Assad’s Baath Party has won a majority of seats, as expected.
The elections for 250 parliamentary seats were held Monday at 8,151 centers in government-held areas of the country, but the voting was repeated in several districts — including Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Daraa — after election officials said there had been irregularities, including voters casting ballots twice.
The heads of some electoral centers were referred to the judiciary for alleged electoral violations.
Altogether, 1,516 candidates were competing for the 250 seats. However, only 65 of those seats were seen as truly up for competition, as the Baath Party and allied parties presented a list of 185 candidates. Typically, all candidates who make it through the Baath Party primaries and appear on the final list win seats.
The results announced Thursday showed that all 185 candidates from the Baath Party and its allies won seats as expected, an increase from the 177 seats won by the coalition in 2020.
Turnout was 38 percent of the 19.3 million eligible voters, election officials said.
Unlike presidential elections, Syrians in the diaspora are not eligible to vote in parliamentary elections.
The head of the Supreme Judicial Committee for Elections, Jihad Murad, who announced the results, said they “reflected the broadest representation of the Syrian people in their various groups and sectors.”
The vote is the fourth since the country’s civil war began in March 2011.
With Assad facing term limits that would end his presidency in 2028, the next parliament is widely expected to try to pass a constitutional amendment to extend his term.
An amendment requires a three-quarters majority, or 188 votes, just over the number of seats held by the Bath Party and its allies. However, nominally independent candidates are also generally seen as loyal to the government.
Syrian President Assad’s Baath Party clinches control of parliament
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Syrian President Assad’s Baath Party clinches control of parliament
- Elections for 250 parliamentary seats were held Monday at 8,151 centers in government-held areas of the country
- The voting was repeated in several districts after election officials said there had been irregularities
Syrian President Sharaa heads to UAE on official visit - SANA
CAIRO: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will travel to the United Arab Emirates for his second visit to a Gulf state as president on Sunday, Syria's official news agency reported.
He will be accompanied by foreign minister Assad al-Shibani, who visited the UAE earlier this year.
They are expected to discuss issues of mutual interest, the SANA state news agency reported.
Sharaa visited Saudi Arabia in February on his first foreign trip since assuming the presidency in January.
His visit to the UAE comes as the new Syrian leadership attempts to strengthen ties with Arab and Western leaders following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December at the hands of Sharaa's Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
(With Reuters)
Indonesia, Egypt upgrade ties to strategic partnership on Prabowo’s Cairo visit
- Jakarta, Cairo established diplomatic ties in 1947
- Prabowo was on a multi-day tour to Middle East
Jakarta: Indonesia and Egypt elevated their ties to a strategic partnership during President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Cairo, his office said on Sunday.
Prabowo and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi signed the joint declaration following their meeting in the Egyptian capital on Saturday, the Cabinet Secretariat said in a statement.
“The signing of the joint declaration is an important milestone in diplomatic ties between the two countries, signifying Indonesia and Egypt’s strong commitment to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic level,” the statement reads.
“Through this strategic partnership, Indonesia and Egypt are committed to (strengthening) cooperation in various priority fields. From politics, economy, security, defense, culture and education ties, as well as people-to-people relations.”
Subianto was in Cairo as part of his multi-day tour to the Middle East and has visited the UAE and Turkiye. This was his second time in Egypt since taking office in October.
Egypt was one of the first countries to recognize Indonesia’s independence, with the two nations establishing diplomatic ties in 1947.
Both Jakarta and Cairo believe that their “strong and historic partnership” will provide “real benefits” for the country and their peoples, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Egypt ranks third among Indonesia’s top export destinations in the Middle East and North Africa, just after the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
With bilateral trade volume worth around $1.7 billion in 2024, Egypt is Indonesia’s top trade partner in North Africa alone. Palm oil, coffee beans, and coconut oil are some of Indonesia’s main exports to Egypt.
“President Prabowo’s visit to Egypt is very important. The strategic partnership that resulted from it is quite broad and will be beneficial for the future of both countries,” Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations expert from Padjadjaran University in West Java, told Arab News.
While trade has been a big aspect of bilateral ties, defense cooperation will likely be a focus of the strategic partnership, he said.
“The most likely area of focus will be defense cooperation … since Egypt has experience in facing different kinds of challenges at the border,” Rezasyah said, referring to Egypt’s shared land borders with a number of states, including Libya, Sudan, and the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza.
Through the partnership, Jakarta may be seeking to learn more closely from Cairo’s experience in dealing with various issues in the Middle East, alluding to Prabowo’s ongoing trip to the region that was aimed at boosting Indonesia’s role in ending Israel’s war on Gaza.
A staunch supporter of Palestine, the Indonesian government and people see Palestinian statehood as being mandated by their own constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism.
“(Learning from) Egypt’s experience might allow Indonesia to have an active role when crises occur in the Middle East, and there’s a big chance that Indonesia might get a mandate from the UN to do so,” Rezasyah said.
Turkiye’s Erdogan plans to visit Syria, timing to be determined, minister says
ANTALYA: Turkiye’s President Tayyip Erdogan plans to visit the Syrian Arab Republic and officials were working to determine suitable dates for such a visit, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday.
Israeli missiles strike Gaza hospital, forcing evacuation as strikes intensify
- Sunday's pre-dawn strike hit Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, forcing patients to evacuate as attacks intensified
- One patient died during the evacuation because medical staff were unable to provide urgent care, according to Gaza’s ministry of health
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza: Israel struck a hospital in northern Gaza early Sunday, forcing patients to evacuate as attacks intensified.
The pre-dawn strike hit Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, after Israel issued an evacuation warning, according to Gaza’s ministry of health. One patient died during the evacuation because medical staff were unable to provide urgent care, it said.
The hospital, run by the Diocese of Jerusalem, was attacked on Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
Hours later, a separate strike on a car in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, killed at least seven people — six brothers and their friend — according to staff at the morgue of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.
Israel said it struck a command and control center used by Hamas at the hospital to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, without providing evidence. It said prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm, including issuing warnings, and using precise munitions and aerial surveillance.
The strikes came hours after Israel’s defense minister said that military activity would rapidly expand across Gaza and that people would have to evacuate from “fighting zones.” Israel also announced Saturday the completion of the Morag corridor, cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, with the military saying it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory.
Israeli authorities have vowed to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages, 24 believed to be alive, and accept proposed new ceasefire terms.
The director of Al-Ahli Hospital, Dr. Fadel Naim, said they were warned of the attack before it was struck. In a post on X, he wrote that the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, impacting more than 100 patients and dozens of medical staff.
The health ministry said the strike destroyed the ward for outpatients and laboratories and damaged the emergency ward.
Medical facilities often come under fire in wars, but combatants usually depict such incidents as accidental or exceptional, since hospitals enjoy special protection under international law. In its 18-month campaign in Gaza, Israel has stood out by carrying out an open campaign on hospitals, besieging and raiding them, some several times, as well as hitting multiple others in strikes while accusing Hamas of using them as cover for its fighters.
Last month Israel struck Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city, the largest in southern Gaza, killing two people and wounding others and causing a large fire, the territory’s health ministry said. The facility was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel ended the ceasefire with a surprise wave of airstrikes.
The war started after Hamas killed 1,200 people during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, mostly civilians, and took 250 people captive, many of whom were eventually freed in ceasefire deals.
More than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have so far been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to the health ministry there, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children.
Algeria protests detention, indictment of consular agent in France
- Algeria’s foreign ministry said it had hauled in French Ambassador Stephane Romatet to “express its strong protest”
- It said the indicted consular officer “was arrested in public and then taken into custody without notification through the diplomatic channels”
ALGIERS: Algeria protested strongly Saturday after French prosecutors indicted one of its consular officials on suspicion of involvement in the April 2024 abduction of an Algerian influencer in a Paris suburb.
The indictment comes at a delicate time in relations between Algeria and its former colonial power, with Algiers claiming the move was aimed at scuppering recent attempts to repair ties.
Three men, one of whom works at an Algerian consulate in France, were indicted Friday in Paris on suspicion of involvement in the abduction of 41-year-old Amir Boukhors.
Boukhors, known as “Amir DZ,” is an opponent of the Algerian government and has more than a million followers on TikTok.
The three were indicted on grounds including abduction, arbitrary detention and illegal confinement, in connection with a terrorist enterprise, according to France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office.
They were later detained in custody.
Algeria’s foreign ministry said it had hauled in French Ambassador Stephane Romatet to “express its strong protest.”
It said the indicted consular officer “was arrested in public and then taken into custody without notification through the diplomatic channels.”
It denounced a “far-fetched argument” based “on the sole fact that the accused consular officer’s mobile phone was allegedly located around the home” of Boukhors.
The Algerian influencer has been in France since 2016 and was granted political asylum in 2023. He was abducted in April 2024 and released the following day, according to his lawyer.
Algiers is demanding the influencer’s return to face trial, having issued nine international arrest warrants against him, accusing him of fraud and terror offenses.
The Algerian foreign ministry demanded the immediate release of its consular officer.
It said the “unprecedented” turn of events was “no coincidence,” and was “aimed at torpedoing the process of reviving bilateral relations” agreed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in a March 31 telephone call.
Relations between Paris and Algiers came under strain last year when France recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria has long backed the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Algeria recalled its ambassador from Paris in protest of the policy shift it has viewed as favoring its North African rival.
Relations soured further in November when Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal on national security charges, after he told a French far-right media outlet that Morocco’s territory was truncated in favor of Algeria during French colonial rule.
Sansal has since been sentenced to five years in jail.
Tensions eased somewhat thanks to the recent phone call between Macron and Tebboune, who voiced their willingness to repair relations.
And French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed hope last Sunday for a “new phase” in relations with Algeria, during a visit aimed at mending the diplomatic rift.
