The first session of the Syrian People's Assembly kicked off on Sunday at the Council building in the capital Damascus, in the presence of President Ahmed Al-Shara, Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Council's Elections, Mohammed Taha Al-Ahmad, members of the Council and a number of ministers, marking the beginning of a new constitutional and political phase in the country's history.

In a speech delivered to the members of the Council, President Ahmed Al-Sharaa stressed that since its inception, humanity has been searching for the best way to organize people's politics and seek guidance in managing its affairs and achieving its interests, pointing out that there is no better way than to bring opinion closer and extend Shura to achieve benefit, and that acceptance and satisfaction are a great matter in expelling division, rejecting disagreement, and bringing consensus and repaying opinions.

President Al-Shara added that Syria today is writing a new history that expresses its civilization, values and heritage, to create a new chapter in the construction of modern Syria, stressing that everyone is facing a great responsibility, and that what has been left behind by the years of tyranny, war and destruction in people, urbanization and the economy requires the interest of the country to prevail, work in the spirit of one team, and make serving the people a goal for every policy, and building the state as a criterion for every decision.

President Al-Shara explained that after the liberation of the country and the restoration of its freedom, Syria will move to the stage of consolidating the state and building its institutions on the foundations of responsibility and efficiency, in a country where dignity is maintained and the will is respected, pointing out that rebuilding the economy, improving the level of services, creating an investment environment, providing job opportunities, and increasing production is a national responsibility shared by all state institutions, foremost of which is the People's Assembly, through the legislation it provides that keep pace with the construction phase, meet the aspirations of Syrians, and support the process of development and prosperity.

President Al-Shara called on the members of the People's Assembly to make the Council a model of responsibility and efficiency, and to contribute to the consolidation of the culture of dialogue, the rule of law and respect for institutions, and to be partners in building a new Syria, asking God to help them in fulfilling their responsibilities, and to make the Council a platform of wisdom, support for the state, and a voice for the people, and for everyone to succeed in building a prosperous Syria, staying away from whims and giving precedence to the public interest.

Al-Ahmad: It represents a landmark historical moment

For his part, the Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Elections of the People's Assembly, Mohammed Taha Al-Ahmad, stressed in his opening speech that the holding of the first session of the Council represents a landmark historical moment that reflects the sacrifices and steadfastness of the Syrian people for freedom and sovereignty, and announces the start of a new phase of national action, pointing out that the real value of what we have reached today is measured by the size of the great sacrifices made by the Syrians.

Al-Ahmad pointed out that the High Elections Committee led the first electoral experiment under the temporary electoral system with all honesty and ability, revealing that the elections included 13 governorates and 57 electoral districts, in which more than 500 candidates competed, while it chose an electoral body that includes more than 6800 members of the People's Assembly, considering that this entitlement paved the way for the birth of a council that embodies the free will of the Syrian people and their aspiration for a stable and bright future.

Election of Al-Awak as Speaker of the Council

The session witnessed the members of the People's Assembly taking the collective constitutional oath in the presence of the legitimate president, to begin their official duties, and in implementation of the provisions of Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration, the session was temporarily chaired by MP Osama Al-Assaf, as the oldest member, where he called on the members of the Interim Legal Committee to supervise the electoral process, count the votes, and set the controls for the elections of the presidential office of the Council.

Al-Assaf announced the opening of candidacy for the presidency of the People's Assembly, where three members applied for the position: Abdel Hamid Aqil Al-Awak, Muayyad Hayel Al-Qablawi, and Mohammed Ramez Korg.

After the voting process, MP Abdel Hamid Al-Awak won the position of Speaker of the Council with 99 votes, while the candidate Muayyad Hayel Al-Qablawi received 75 votes and the candidate Mohamed Ramez Korg received 31 votes

The opening session comes after the completion of the formation of the new Syrian People's Assembly, which consists of 210 members, 140 of whom were elected through electoral bodies in various Syrian governorates, while the president appointed 70 members, representing the complementary third whose official list was issued on July 1.

This formation represents a transitional constitutional mechanism stipulated in the interim electoral system emanating from the Constitutional Declaration, with the aim of ensuring the ability of the legislative institution to work and exercise its functions in proposing laws and approving the general budget within the exceptional circumstances that the country is going through in the period after the fall of the former regime.