The head of the Supreme Electoral Committee of the regime’s government, Jihad Murad, announced that the committee has received 1,631 applications for membership in the People’s Assembly for the fourth legislative term in the provinces since the opening of the submission period on Monday.

In a statement to the official Syrian News Agency (SANA) today, Tuesday, May 21, Murad noted that the number of applications on the first day reached 840, and on the second day 791, mentioning that the number of candidacy applications might increase as the deadline approaches. The submission continues for seven days during official working hours, including holidays, extending until the upcoming Sunday, May 26.

Murad also explained that the complete Sub-Judicial Committee is ready to receive candidacy applications, requiring candidates to attach all required documents, such as a civil status extract showing the date of birth, being a Syrian Arab for more than ten years, not having been convicted with a verdict issued more than a month ago, and a declaration of not having run in any other electoral cycle, and that the candidate must be a voter in the electoral district they wish to represent.

Committees are set to decide on the candidacy applications within five days from the date of submission; if not decided upon within this period, the application is considered accepted. The names of those whose candidacies are accepted will be announced in an alphabetical list, separately for each sector.

Candidates whose applications are rejected can object to the committee’s decision within three days starting from the day following the announcement, before the Sub-Judicial Committee. The objection will be decided upon within three days of its submission, and the decision will then be final.

During the regime’s weekly government session today, Tuesday, its head, Hussein Arnous, emphasized the importance of taking all measures to simplify and facilitate the submission processes for the People’s Assembly elections, and exerting all efforts to ensure the success of what he described as “the constitutional entitlement.”

The anticipated elections will be conducted without any change in representation levels, with 183 members out of the total 250 being appointed by the Baath Party and the other nominal allied parties (166 seats for the Baath Party, and 17 seats for the other parties), known as National Unity lists, leaving 67 seats for independent candidates.

The Syrian regime has not altered these proportions despite the contradiction this poses with the abolition of Article 8 from the constitution in 2012, which stated that “the Baath Party is the leader of the state and society.”

These are the fourth legislative elections to be conducted by the regime in the areas under its control since the outbreak of the revolution in 2011, amidst international and local skepticism regarding their integrity and the integrity of the presidential elections.