Syria now has a complete parliament

Syria’s new 210-member People’s Assembly is set to convene for the first time post-Assad on Monday, after Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa appointed the final one-third of lawmakers to parliament. The presidential appointments add onto another 140 members of parliament, who were previously selected by regional electoral colleges, which themselves were part of a committee Al Sharaa had formed.

The list shows the president’s appointments ramped up the number of women serving as MPs, but doesn’t clarify how Syria’s ethnic groups are represented in the final tally. It remains unclear whether the government will publish further data specifying the ratios of seats assigned to Sunnis, Shias, Alawites, Druze, or Christians.

The power and significance of the People’s Assembly is already being called into question. The parliament, which has a renewable 30-month term, is currently operating under a temporary constitution that was enacted earlier this year and which grants it authority to propose and approve laws, but does not require other typical functions of a parliament, including giving the country’s government a vote of confidence, Reuters notes. The process of forming parliament has also drawn criticism, with some saying that the electoral college system — which authorities said was necessary in the absence of accurate voter records following the civil war — consolidates power under the president.