Reuters — Syrian authorities announced the names of 70 lawmakers on Wednesday appointed to a transitional parliament by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, paving the way to convene the body next week more than eight months after the process of forming it began.

The 210-member chamber, two-thirds of which was chosen by regional electoral colleges last year, will wield limited power under a presidential ruling system established under Sharaa since he ousted Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

The People’s Assembly will hold its first session on Monday, Mohamed Taha al-Ahmed, head of the Higher Judicial Committee for Parliamentary Elections, said during a news conference.

The formation of the new parliament has been seen as a test of Sharaa’s promises of political inclusivity in post-Assad Syria.

His appointees included 15 women, boosting to 21 the number of female lawmakers after last year’s selection process resulted in only six being chosen.

Officials did not specify how many of the newly appointed lawmakers hailed from religious and ethnic minorities. Ten of the seats chosen last year went to members of religious and ethnic minorities, including Kurds, Christians and Alawites — the sect to which Assad belongs. Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander, is a member of Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority.

Sharaa has previously said he would use his nominations to address imbalances in political representation that emerged from last year’s selection........

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