On July,19, 2020, the people of Syria will cast their ballots in parliamentary elections and they will prove once again to the whole world the they are the only ones who have the right to make decisions in Syria.

The Syrian people, who have confronted a terror war that has entered its 10^th year, will select their representatives to the parliament taking into consideration that participation in the elections is a national duty and they must be highly selective to help the new members of parliament to be active in addressing  all challenges, which the country is facing due to the ongoing war and sanctions.

All the people I asked about their opinion on the work of the previous parliaments have expressed their dissatisfaction and they stressed that they want the parliamentarians to work for the people, who have voted for them and not for their own interests.

"It is a national duty to participate in parliamentary elections, and I will vote for candidates, who have not been in the previous parliament simply because I have not seen any of the previous parliamentarians with people in the streets, schools, universities… They have no direct communication with people.. I hope that the new parliamentarians will be active," Maysaa, a 40-year-old woman told Syria Times newspaper.

Ahmad, a 63-year-old man, told us:"I want the Parliamentarians to be honest and to serve their country."

Majed, a 30-year-old man, said that some MPs have made humanitarian initiatives that eased the suffering of a lot of people without media coverage.

"We do not deny that the participation of Syrian parliamentarians in world conferences and forums is essential to tell the world about the reality of events in our country, but as a Syrian citizen I want the parliament also to resolve – not only to discuss- the people's problems related to high prices, low salaries, the availability of medicines , you name it..," he added.

Deya'a, a 25-year-old man, hopes that the new parliamentarians will convey the opinions and ideas of the youth and communicate with them to know their problems and to work on resolving them.

In this context, the parliamentarian Dr. Noura Arysian made it clear that the task of the Parliament is to observe the work of the executive authority and to be in touch with people, citing that there is complaints committee that receives the complaints of people.  

The slogans written by the candidates in their electoral programs concentrate on making change and making something new for a better future.

Amal Qaddour, a parliamentary candidate, believes that improving people's livelihood, protecting children, paying attention to psychological health, facilitating the return of youth and investing their capabilities in the homeland and fighting corruption must be addressed in new ways.

"It is necessary to rebuild trust between the people and the parliament through fulfilling the promises mentioned in candidates' electoral programs," she added. 

Lawyer Mahmoud Merei, secretary general of the Syrian Democratic Front [internal opposition party] said that the previous mechanism of elections helped some candidates, who were not qualified to represent people, to win seats in the parliament and caused negative effects in politically.

 When you move along the road that links Omayyad square and Victoria bridge in Damascus city you will see posters for several famous Damascene businessmen, who are running for the 2020parliamentary elections, and their photos look like models in a "fashion show" .

" I saw the photos of those businessmen in the previous elections, but we did not see any of them on the ground after they won seats ..I will vote for new candidates because we want to see new faces that can address our problems," a taxi driver said.

The parliamentary elections that have been scheduled on the dot on April, 13, 2020 have been postponed twice until May, 20, 2020 and then until July, 19, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Syria is keen on keeping the legislative and executive authorities working normally to preserve stability in the country that is still facing constant ruthless attacks by the United States and its allies to subjugate it.

 8,735 people applied for their candidacy in March 2020, according to the Higher Judicial Committee for election.

On July, 12, 2020, the committee declared that 2100 parliamentary candidates will compete against one another for votes in 7313 vote centers.

Undoubtedly, a daunting task awaits the winners in the parliamentary elections as the ongoing war and sanctions have taken a toll upon the people and the country.  

By: Basma Qaddour