It is the first time that Ahmed al-Sharaa has commented on a timetable for the elections since he toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad this month.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says holding elections in the war-ravaged country could take up to four years.
It is the first time the new Syrian leader has commented on a possible election timeline since opposition fighters led by al-Sharaas Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad three weeks ago .
The drafting of a new constitution could take up to three years, al-Sharaa told Saudi state broadcaster Al Arabiya on Sunday.
He said the elections would probably take place after four years as a new census would be conducted to determine the number of eligible voters in the country. “Any meaningful election requires conducting a comprehensive census,” he said.
Al-Sharaa said Syrians would likely be witnesses significant changes in their country in about a year. He said HTS – the dominant military and political power in Syria – would be dissolved at a national dialogue conference.
Al-Sharaa’s comments came as the new government in Damascus sought to reassure its neighbors of peace and stability in the multi-ethnic country.
“Syria will not be a source of unrest for anyone,” he told Al Arabiya.
Al-Sharaa said Syria shares strategic interests with Russia, a close ally and military supporter of al-Assad during Syria’s 13-year war, reiterating conciliatory signals his government had previously given. This month he said Syria’s relations with Russia should serve common interests.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the status of Russian military bases in Syria would be the subject of negotiations with the new leadership in Damascus.
“It’s not just about maintaining our bases or fortresses, but also about the conditions of their operation, maintenance and supply, as well as interaction with the local side,” he said in an interview with the Russian news agency RIA published on Sunday.
Al-Sharaa also said he hoped the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump would lift sanctions imposed on Syria.
Senior U.S. diplomats who visited Damascus this month said al-Sharaa seemed pragmatic and that Washington had decided to place a $10 million bounty on the HTS leader’s head.
