Less than two months after spearheading a campaign that overthrew Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaawas tightened his grip on power on Wednesday by declaring himself president for a transitional period.
The military command that spearheaded the campaign against Assad said that the Syrian constitution was suspended and that Sharaa was also given the authority to establish a provisional legislative council for a transitional period.
The choices came from a gathering of military leaders involved in the attack, which was led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former offshoot of al Qaeda.
Speaking to the conference, Sharaa stated that the top objective in Syria is to legitimately and legally fill a void in the government.
He added that the development of economic infrastructure, the reconstruction of state institutions, particularly the military and security forces, and the implementation of transitional justice and the prevention of acts of retaliation are necessary to maintain civil peace.
Sharaa has promised to start a political transition that might take up to four years to complete and include a national convention, an inclusive administration, and eventual elections.
The declaration on Wednesday did not provide a schedule for the transition or the potential selection date of the new parliamentary assembly.
The announcement, according to London School of Economics Professor of International Relations Fawaz Gerges, had officially established his position as the strongman dictator. In my opinion, Sharaa and HTS want to strengthen Islamist single-party dictatorship.
The Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda offshoot during the Syrian civil war, gave rise to HTS until severing connections with it in 2016.
According to the announcement, Sharaa has taken over as the nation’s president during the transitional period and will represent the Syrian Arab Republic in international fora and perform the responsibilities of the presidency.
Until a new constitution is ratified, the new legislative council will continue to operate. The Assad-elected parliament from the previous year was officially disbanded.
Along with reiterating earlier actions to dissolve Assad’s Baath Party and his state security apparatus, the proclamation stated that rebel organizations that fought him throughout the course of the 13-year conflict were to be disbanded and assimilated into the state.
The remarks were made during a gathering known as the Conference for Announcing the Syrian Revolution’s Victory. It was not made public in advance and was attended by ministers from the interim administration that HTS constituted in December.
Following the announcement, Qatar, which supports the new government, released a statement applauding efforts to reorganize the Syrian state and foster peace and consensus among all of its factions.
“The announcement is a raw translation of Sharaa’s newfound power and military control of great parts of Syria, including the capital,” said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center.
He went on to say that it does not accurately represent Syria’s political, religious, and ethnic diversity.
Shortly after the announcements, there was apparent joyous shooting in the heart of Damascus.