President of Syria

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President of the
Syrian Arab Republic
Standard of the President
Incumbent
Bashar al-Assad
since 17 July 2000
ResidencePeople's Palace and Tishreen Palace, Damascus
Term lengthSeven years, renewable once[1]
Inaugural holderShukri al-Quwatli
Formation17 April 1946
DeputyVice President of Syria
Politics of Syria

Arab League Member State of the Arab League

Constitution
Human rights
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Subdivisions
Elections
Foreign relations

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The President of Syria is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. He is vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at his sole discretion, to his Vice Presidents. He appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister and other members of the Council of Ministers (the cabinet) and military officers.[2]

Term of office

According to article 88 of the Syrian constitution, the president runs for a 7-year term after he is elected, and can only be reelected for one more term. [3]

Eligibility criteria

According to articles 84 and 85 of the Syrian constitution, the candidate for the office of President of the Republic must:

  1. Acquire the support of at least 35 members of the People's Assembly
  2. Be above the age of 34 (as of a new law)
  3. Have lived continuously in Syria for 10 years before the election
  4. Be Syrian by birth, of parents who are Syrians by birth
  5. Not be married to a non-Syrian spouse

Also, the Constitution states that "The religion of the President of the Republic is Islam," and that "The State shall respect all religions, and ensure the freedom to perform all the rituals that do not prejudice public order."[4]

On 31 January 1973, Hafez al-Assad implemented the new Constitution, which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the president of Syria must be a Muslim, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama, Homs and Aleppo organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and the ulama. They labeled Assad as the "enemy of God" and called for a jihad against his rule.[5] Robert D. Kaplan has compared Assad's coming to power to "an untouchable becoming maharajah in India or a Jew becoming tsar in Russia—an unprecedented development shocking to the Sunni majority population which had monopolized power for so many centuries."[6]

Powers

Apart from executive authority relating to a wide range of governmental functions including foreign affairs, the president has the right to dissolve the People's Council, in which case a new council must be elected within ninety days from the date of dissolution.

List of Presidents

Main article: List of Presidents of Syria

Latest election

Main article: Syrian presidential election, 2014
Candidate Party Votes %
Bashar al-Assad Ba'ath Party 10,319,723 88.7
Hassan al-Nouri NIACS 500,279 4.3
Maher Hajjar Independent 372,301 3.2
Invalid/blank votes 442,108 3.8
Total 11,634,412 100
Registered votes/turnout 15,845,575 73.42
Source: SANA, SANA

References

  1. ^ Article 88 of the Syrian Constitution
  2. ^ "Syria - The President and the Cabinet".
  3. ^ Article 88 of the Syrian Constitution
  4. ^ "Constitution of the Syrian Arabic Republic – Syrian Arab News Agency". sana.sy. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  5. ^ Alianak, Sonia (2007). Middle Eastern Leaders and Islam: A Precarious Equilibrium. Peter Lang. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-8204-6924-9.
  6. ^ Kaplan, Robert (February 1993). "Syria: Identity Crisis". The Atlantic.

External links

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