Behind the Curtain: Syria’s Parliamentary Farce

s soon as the members of the People’s Assembly of Syria began their sessions following the farcical elections held on July 15, 2024, tensions ignited between militia leaders and business tycoons who had secured seats in the People’s Assembly and their rivals who had failed to gain a foothold.

Despite the foreordained outcome of these parliamentary elections, orchestrated by al-Assad’s regime, the loss of seats by militia commanders and warlords—who sought the protection of parliamentary immunity—prompted them to challenge the legitimacy of their victorious counterparts.

Al-Assad's People’s Assembly

In a bid to undermine these newly elected officials, those who lost unveiled concealed corruption files against certain members, presenting legal evidence that could constitutionally justify the annulment of their parliamentary memberships due to violations deliberately obscured during the application process.

In this turbulent climate, the People's Assembly, under al-Assad's regime, removed businessman Mohammed Hamsho from its ranks, citing his possession of Turkish citizenship, as reported by the pro-regime newspaper al-Watan.

On October 21, 2024, the newspaper stated that People’s Assembly members voted unanimously to strip Hamsho of his membership.

As a billionaire who has been a deputy since 2012, Hamsho has maintained close ties with Maher al-Assad, Bashar's brother, for decades.

Hamsho has benefited from the favors extended by Bashar al-Assad’s regime, using them to amplify his wealth, which he has invested across various sectors of the Syrian economy.

Since 2011, he has been targeted by the United States for his support of the regime’s economy in its efforts to counter the popular uprising, leading to European sanctions as well.

Hamsho is not alone in this predicament; he was preceded by deputy Shadi Debsi, whose membership in the parliament was revoked by the People's Assembly on October 10, 2024, also due to his possession of Turkish citizenship.

Local media reported that Debsi held Turkish citizenship in 2023. 

Debsi had recently won a seat in the parliamentary elections as a representative for Aleppo, working as a plastic surgeon.

As per the Syrian constitution, the President of the People’s Assembly is required to notify the President of the Republic when a deputy's membership is revoked. 

This notification prompts the President of the Republic to issue a decree for the election of a new member from the constituency of the removed deputy.

Elections are then held, and the successful candidate is confirmed by a second decree from the President of the Republic, after which they attend the first session following their confirmation and take the constitutional oath.

The Syrian constitution stipulates that candidates for membership in the People’s Assembly must have lived in Syria for at least ten years, must not hold any citizenship other than Syrian, and must be at least 25 years old.

Nevertheless, the Syrian opposition and the European Union assert that these elections are illegitimate and contravene UN Resolution 2254, which lays the groundwork for a political solution in the country.

Notably, the timeline of Hamsho's acquisition of a second nationality remains unclear, particularly given his position in the People’s Assembly since 2012.

Hamsho is widely recognized as a commercial front for Maher al-Assad, especially as his investments span key sectors, including telecommunications, advertising, marketing, and media production.

He founded the Syrian Art Production International and the Sham news site, and he was involved in establishing the local al-Dunya TV.

In 1989, he launched the Hamsho International Group, which encompasses around 20 companies engaged in construction and government contracts, highlighting the strength and diversity of his investments.

In 2020, Hamsho ran for a council seat but withdrew under pressure believed to have been exerted by Hilal al-Hilal, the ruling Ba’ath Party's assistant regional secretary.

Hilal is seen as the local political face of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and after the revolution erupted in 2011, he personally contributed to mobilizing party members to suppress the uprising. 

This included deploying Ba’athists in anti-revolution rallies across various regions of Syria, followed by armed recruitment efforts in 2012 under the name of the Ba’ath Brigades, which became a local military force allied with al-Assad's troops.

However, Bashar al-Assad later dismissed Hilal from his position as assistant regional secretary of the Ba’ath Party, a role he had held since 2013.

Hilal resurfaced in a meeting with Bashar al-Assad on May 8, 2024, during a gathering with members sidelined from the central leadership of the Ba’ath Party, part of the changes arising from the elections for the party’s leadership that year.

Corruption and Militias

What unfolds within the People's Assembly, under al-Assad's regime, is a revealing tableau of personal rivalries, illustrating the fierce competition among those close to the regime—militia leaders, warlords, and ambitious businessmen seeking parliamentary immunity for various purposes, rather than a genuine commitment to serving the citizenry.

Legal challenges initiated have gone beyond merely stripping membership from certain deputies in the newly formed People’s Assembly; they have escalated to legal challenges against some of the victorious candidates, aiming to revoke their parliamentary seats based on constitutionally valid accusations for disqualification.

In a notable turn of events, the People's Assembly, under al-Assad’s regime, voted to authorize legal action against two of its members just a day after the removal of Mohammad Hamsho's membership.

On October 23, 2024, al-Watan newspaper reported that the People's Assembly granted permission to pursue legal proceedings against Mujahid Ismail and Khaled al-Zubaidi, without disclosing the specific reasons or additional details.

According to local outlet Hashtag, this decision was prompted by separate lawsuits against Ismail, who is accused of fraud, and al-Zubaidi, who faces allegations of misappropriating public funds.

It’s important to note that the lifting of parliamentary immunity does not equate to the annulment of a deputy's membership in the People's Assembly. 

Rather, it signifies consent to judicial proceedings and investigation. 

If the charges or violations are substantiated, the deputy could face a decision regarding the revocation of their membership.

Khaled al-Zubaidi rose to prominence as a Syrian economist in 2018, gaining recognition amid the shifting financial landscape shaped by the Syrian government's war against its citizens since 2011, under al-Assad's rule.

On July 17, 2022, the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade announced the formation of the Syrian-Algerian Business Council, appointing al-Zubaidi as its president.

Khaled al-Zubaidi is among the businessmen that al-Assad’s regime has groomed over the past decade, supporting them in executing services that align with its interests and help it navigate international sanctions.

According to the Syrian site Pro-Justice, al-Zubaidi’s company, Ebdaa Investments, received loans amounting to 687 million Syrian pounds from the Syrian Real Estate Bank at the beginning of 2011, which he subsequently failed to repay. 

This was a staggering sum at the time, when the dollar was valued at approximately 50 pounds.

In line with the U.S. Caesar Act, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on al-Zubaidi and his partner Nader Kalai, as well as their company Zubaidi and Qalei LLC.

This placed al-Zubaidi's name among the first batch of sanctions designated to penalize the supporters and collaborators of al-Assad’s regime.

On the other hand, Mujahid Ismail serves as the commander of the Ba’ath Brigades in the countryside of Damascus and is a member of the Central Committee of the Ba’ath Party.

The People's Assembly's decision to approve legal action against Ismail came less than two weeks after he was appointed commander of the Ba'ath Brigades, an auxiliary force supporting Assad's military.

After the Syrian revolution began in 2011, Ismail, who had strong connections with Hafez Makhlouf, Bashar Assad's cousin, established the first shabiha groups—state-sponsored militias—in Damascus specifically to suppress demonstrations in the capital. 

Makhlouf managed the deployment of these groups by sending them on buses to mosque entrances on Fridays, where they were charged with breaking up protests and were financially rewarded for their violent actions. 

He has also faced European sanctions for his many violations.

Factional Struggles

Observers contend that the names of members in the People's Assembly, under al-Assad’s regime, are pre-approved by intelligence agencies, granting them a predetermined ticket to victory.

In this context, unwavering loyalty to al-Assad’s regime serves not just as a prerequisite for entering the People’s Assembly; it also ignites fierce competition among candidates seeking membership. 

Some are even prepared to reveal corruption files against their successful rivals, driven by a sense of vengeance.

This dynamic of rivalry and vengeance unveils the bitter conflict within Syria’s corrupt system.

Numerous examples illustrate how al-Assad’s regime has ushered in individuals known for their corruption into the People’s Assembly chamber.

In this context, Syrian legal expert Ahmad Sulaiman observed that these deputies are just a facade for implementing Assad's and his inner circle's decisions. 

These deputies lack the genuine ability to propose legislation for the public good; their role is simply to approve whatever is presented to them—essentially, they are intelligence operatives in the Assembly.

Sulaiman told Al-Estiklal, “All those aspiring to enter the parliamentary chamber seek either immunity to facilitate new deals and projects or to navigate around laws to expand their economic influence during their four-year tenure.”

“What we are witnessing now is that the new parliamentary session of Bashar Assad’s regime, populated by militia leaders implicated in war crimes against Syrians and businessmen, reflects the nature of the covert struggle within the Syrian regime’s factions for influence and control, particularly in economic matters.”

“The revocation of membership from certain individuals—despite their passing of the security vetting that precedes approval for candidacy in the People’s Assembly elections—reveals the essence of that struggle,” Sulaiman noted.

“The Syrian regime, [under Bashar al-Assad’s rule], did not revoke Iranian citizenship from deputy Fahd Darwish, who won a seat representing Damascus in the current session on the Sham list, the same list that Mohammad Hamsho ran on,” according to Sulaiman.

Fahd Darwish is a prominent businessman in Syria and a key player in facilitating Iranian economic dominance over the country.

The Syrian Observer reported that “Fahd Darwish holds Iranian citizenship and previously chaired the Syrian-Iranian Chamber of Commerce.”

Darwish returned to Syria nearly a decade ago and has been recognized in Syrian circles as a businessman and investor since 1990.

Whenever his name surfaces in the Syrian economic landscape, Darwish is often regarded as the architect of significant commercial deals orchestrated by Iran, in collusion with al-Assad’s regime.

Notably, the former Iranian ambassador to Syria, Jawad Torkabadi, who completed his tenure in May 2021, would host iftar dinners during Ramadan exclusively for Darwish, excluding other Syrian businessmen. 

This was part of a strategy to promote Darwish as Tehran’s economic frontman in Syria.

On January 22, 2024, the European Union added several Syrian individuals and entities to its sanctions list for their support of al-Assad’s regime, with Fahd Darwish prominently featured.

Syria, under Bashar al-Assad’s rule, ranks 13th among the 180 most corrupt nations globally, according to the 2023 Corruption Perception Index, published by Transparency International.