Syria’s de facto leader says polls could be 4 years away – The Tribune

Holding elections in Syria could take up to four years, Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said in remarks to be broadcast on Sunday, the first time he has commented on a possible electoral timetable since Bashar al-Assad was ousted this month.

Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, Sharaa said in written excerpts from the interview with the Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya, due to be transmitted later on Sunday. He also said it would take about a year for Syrians to see drastic changes. The comment from Sharaa, who leads the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that ousted Assad on December 8, comes as the new government in Damascus has been seeking to reassure its neighbours that it has moved away from its roots in Islamist militancy.

The group’s lightning campaign ended a 13-year civil war but has left a host of questions about the future of a multi-ethnic country previously held together by decades of authoritarian Assad family rule, and where foreign states including Turkey and Russia have strong and potentially competing interests.

While Western powers largely welcomed the end of Assad family rule in Syria, it remains unclear whether the group will impose strict Islamic rule or show flexibility and move towards democracy.

Sharaa said HTS would be dissolved at a national dialogue conference. The group was once affiliated with Daesh and al-Qaeda but has since renounced both and sought to reposition itself as a force for moderation.