The People's Assembly will hold its first session on Sunday "if there is no emergency"

Private sources said that the Syrian administration is moving to adopt Sunday as the date for the first session of the People's Assembly, after the postponement of last Monday's session, in compliance with the legal deadline imposed by the provisional electoral system for the start of the parliamentary session following the announcement of the "supplementary presidential third  ".

  The sources added to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the authorities are seeking to start the work of the council during this period, even if it is necessary to extend the first session or divide it into two days to complete the necessary legislative procedures.

Postponement of a maximum of two days

According to the sources, the actual date was Thursday, July 9, as the last day of the deadline before entering the "legislative vacuum" phase, but recent security developments in Damascus, in addition to the need to give members enough time to prepare after the abrupt postponement, prompted the session to be postponed to Sunday.

The sources pointed out  that the abrupt postponement also came for security reasons related to the French president's visit to Damascus, and the strict measures that accompanied it, as well as President Ahmed al-Shara's foreign commitments  , including his visit to Turkey to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the  NATO summit in Ankara.

 Government sources said that the start of the council's work during the next two days has become an urgent necessity for the executive authority, and that any new postponement will not exceed two days at the latest, unless there are security or political developments that force the administration to modify the date again.

Controversy over the powers of the High Elections Committee

The document of instructions for the opening session witnessed a difference of opinion and objections to what was considered "exceeding the powers of the High Elections Committee", with a change in some paragraphs and another addition that contradicts the text of the provisional electoral system and the constitutional declaration, especially those related to the powers of the chairman of the committee, the performance of the oath, the elections of the presidential office, and the presence of the President of the Republic. 

Parliamentary sources expected that the High Elections Committee and the General Secretariat of the People's Assembly would amend it to end the controversy before the first session, which means clarifying the electoral system that will be followed in the selection of the Speaker of Parliament and his office, in line with the articles of the Constitutional Declaration, the temporary electoral system regulating the People's Assembly elections, and the process of managing the first sessions until the preparation of the rules of procedure.

In the corridors of the People's Assembly, there is talk  of amending the executive instructions for the first session, which allows for the reliance on Article 40 of the Provisional Electoral Law, which allows the President of the Republic to attend the second session in case he is unable to attend the first session, an amendment that is expected to end the controversy raised by the previous document regarding the powers of the Supreme Committee, the mechanisms for taking the oath and the election of the presidential office.

The President of the Age Chairs the First Session

The instruction document indicates that the head of the Supreme Elections Committee opens the first session and invites the members to take the oath collectively, before adjourning the session for a short break, and then resumes under the chairmanship of the oldest member, with the participation of the youngest member as secretary, in preparation for the election of the presidential office and the launch of the new parliamentary session.

 The sources confirmed that the Supreme Committee and the General Secretariat of the Council are working to amend some controversial paragraphs in the previous document, in line with the articles of the Constitutional Declaration and the Provisional Electoral System, and ensure the clarity of the mechanisms that will be adopted in the selection of the Speaker of Parliament and his office.