Holding new elections in Syria could take up to four years, rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a radio interview.
This is the first time he has given a timetable for possible elections in Syria since his group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a rebel offensive that toppled former President Bashar al-Assad.
In an interview with Saudi state broadcaster Al Arabiya on Sunday, he said that drafting a new constitution could take up to three years.
He said it could also take a year for Syrians to see significant changes and improvements in public services following the fall of the Assad regime.
Sharaa said Syria needs to rebuild its legal system and conduct a comprehensive census to hold legitimate elections.
Sharaa – formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani – headed the country’s new authorities after the Assad presidency was toppled earlier this month.
Since then, questions have been raised about how HTS will govern the multi-ethnic country.
HTS began as a jihadist group that used violence to achieve its goal of establishing a state governed by Islamic law (Sharia). In recent years, however, she has distanced herself from this past.
Sharaa said the group, once allied with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda and classified as a terrorist organization by the United Nations and many countries, would be “disbanded” at an upcoming national dialogue conference, but gave no further details.
The meeting could be the first test of whether Syria’s new leadership can achieve its promised goal of unifying the country after thirteen years of civil war.
Responding to criticism of his interim government, he said the appointments made were “essential” and not intended to exclude anyone.
Syria is home to many ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shiites and Arab Sunnis, the latter of which make up the majority of the Muslim population.
His group promised to protect the rights and freedoms of minorities in the country.
Nearly 300 people were arrested last week in a crackdown on Assad loyalists, according to a Britain-based war monitor.
Among those arrested were informants, regime fighters and former soldiers, said the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman.
He told the AFP news agency that the arrests had been made “in collaboration with the local population.”
The Syrian state news agency Sana also reported this week on arrests against “members of the Assad militia,” in which weapons and ammunition were confiscated.
