Kurds challenge Syria parliament seat share after elections

Shafaq News- Damascus

Kurdish activists criticized the community’s share in Syria’s new parliament after the completion of parliamentary elections in Hasakah province and the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani on Sunday, which raised the number of Kurdish lawmakers to eight out of 140 elected members nationwide.

Kurdish candidates secured five new seats —four in Hasakah and one in Kobani— in addition to three previously allocated seats from Afrin.

Sherwan Khalil, a human rights activist from Qamishli, told Shafaq News that the Kurdish share in parliament “does not reflect the Kurdish population in Syria,” which he estimated at around 15% of the country’s total population. Based on that proportion, he argued, Kurds should hold roughly 30 seats in the legislature, calling for a political system founded on “justice, equality, and genuine partnership among Syria’s communities.”

Meanwhile, activist Shirin Sheikhi from Kobani described participation in the political process as still “limited,” while describing involvement in the legislature as an important step toward securing Kurdish rights and embedding them in country’s constitution.

Under Syria’s transitional constitutional declaration, the president appoints one-third of parliament’s members, equivalent to 70 seats in the 210-member assembly, while the remaining two-thirds are elected through regional bodies. According to the Higher Elections Committee, the mechanism is intended to ensure broader political and social inclusion.

Parliamentary elections were initially held across Syria on October 5, 2025, with 126 representatives elected nationwide, but voting in Kurdish-majority areas and Suwayda province was postponed because of political and security conditions.