Political and Academic Figures: Laws of Elections and Parties Guarantee Political Participation, Freedom and Democracy

The legislative decrees on elections and parties issued byLaws of Elections and Partiesprovide the legal and national framework to regulate the political life in a way that meets the Syrian people’s aspirations.

In a statement to SANA, Dean of Faculty of Law at Damascus University Dr. Mohammad al-Hussein said the legislative decree on parties is a quantum step towards political participation and authority alternation to achieve democracy.

Al-Hussein added that the parties’ law guarantees the balance between the presence of these parties and Syria’s resistant line through their active participation in enhancing the political understanding and activating political life.

He described the law on general elections as “modern” in that it guarantees the freedom of citizens in choosing their representatives on the level of local administration and the people’s assembly elections.

Head of the National Initiative for Syrian Kurds Omar Ausi said that the new parties’ law is an important historic step in line with the package of reforms announced by the government and it gives the opportunity to all political movements to integrate into political life.

He added that the proposal of the national initiatives in the consultative meeting for national dialogue have been taken into account regarding the integration of the Syrian Kurds into political life in Syria.

Ausi said the new general elections’ law guarantees democratic and free elections, adding that the open-list electoral system facilitates the electoral process.

In Lattakia, Member of the Democratic Socialist Unionist Party Khaled Shaabo said the new parties law presents a political approach that meets the broad popular expectations of reform.

“According to this law,” added Shaabo, “every Syrian citizen can join the political party that meets his aspirations, adding that the government’s promise to provide financial and material support for the new parties indicated the seriousness of the political leadership in achieving reform.”

Communications Engineer Ahmad Jaban from Aleppo indicated to the importance of the fact that a party cannot be based on religious, tribal, regional, denominational, or profession-related basis or on the basis of discrimination due to ethnicity, gender or race.

Lawyer Sua’ad al-Khaled from Daraa said the new law on parties provides opportunity for political pluralism and enhances the principle of democracy to achieve the interest of all citizens.

On the law of general elections, al-Khaled added that the law is an important step to create an appropriate democratic atmosphere for free and honest elections.