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Roula Khalaf, Chefredakteurin der FT, wählt ihre Lieblingsgeschichten in diesem wöchentlichen Newsletter aus.
Der de facto Führer Syriens, Ahmed al-Sharaa, hat gesagt, dass es bis zu vier Jahre dauern könnte, bis das Land nach dem Sturz des ehemaligen Präsidenten Bashar al-Assads Regimes seine ersten Wahlen abhält.
In seinen ersten Kommentaren zu einem möglichen Zeitplan für wichtige Phasen des politischen Übergangs des Landes sagte Sharaa: „Für gültige Wahlen ist eine umfassende Volkszählung erforderlich.“
Die Ausarbeitung einer neuen Verfassung könnte laut Sharaa auch bis zu drei Jahre dauern. Dies sagte Sharaa, der früher das Pseudonym Abu Mohammad al-Jolani verwendete, in einem Interview mit den saudi-arabischen Sendern al-Arabiya und al-Hadath am Sonntag.
Die längere als erwartete Übergangsphase wird westliche Mächte beunruhigen, die Sharaa gedrängt haben, eine inklusive Regierung zu bilden. Sie erwägen die Aufhebung von Sanktionen gegen den syrischen Staat und die terroristischen Einstufungen von Sharaa und Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), der islamistischen Bewegung, die die Blitzrebellenoffensive zur Entmachtung Assads führte.
Earlier this month, HTS appointed Mohamed al-Bashir as Syria’s interim prime minister,
Bashir, who led the civilian administration in Idlib, the north-west region that has been under HTS’s control for years, announced at the time that his cabinet, which is largely made up of HTS members who had roles in the former Idlib administration, would form a caretaker government until March next year.
Sharaa also addressed HTS’s dominant role in the transitional government, telling the broadcasters that “the current form of appointments was a necessity of the stage” and that a “quota system during this period would have destroyed the transitional work”.
Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian National Coalition — an umbrella group of leading Assad opponents during Syria’s civil war — has called for all opposition parties to be included in the transitional government.
He also laid out an 18-month timeline for a political transition, including a six-month period for drafting a new constitution.
Sharaa also confirmed that HTS and other armed factions would be dissolved into new state authorities, although it is not certain whether Syria’s many factions will accept his initiative.
HTS’s dissolution will be announced at a National Dialogue Conference of leading opposition figures, ethnic and religious leaders and some Assad regime officials who did not have military or security roles.
The conference, a date for which has not yet been announced, is also expected to announce the dissolution of the former parliament and cancellation of the former constitution, along with the formation of an advisory council, organisers told Al Jazeera.
One of the most significant factions that remains outside Sharaa’s sphere of influence is the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which control a large portion of the country’s north-east.
Sharaa said on Sunday that the HTS-led administration was negotiating with the SDF over the future status of the region.