Rebel leader Ahmed al-Shara said it could take up to four years for new elections to be held in Syria. He said this in an interview given to the Saudi state broadcaster Al-Arabiya on Sunday (December 29).
Syria's rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has set a deadline for possible elections for the first time since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Shara said it could take up to three years to draft a new constitution. Besides, another year may be needed to bring about significant changes in public services after the fall of the Assad regime.
He said restructuring Syria's legal framework and conducting a comprehensive census are essential to hold legitimate elections.
Shara was formerly known as Abu Muhammad al-Jolani. Syria's new administration is at the helm since the fall of Assad earlier this month.
HTS was once known as a jihadist organization and used violent methods to establish Islamic law (Sharia). However, in recent years the organization has moved away from that position.
Shara said that the organization will be dissolved in the national dialogue conference. But he did not say anything in detail about it.
The national dialogue could be the new leadership's first test of unity in war-torn Syria.
Syria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. Various groups live here, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawi Shia and the majority Sunni Arabs. Shara's party has pledged to protect the rights and freedoms of minorities.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported that nearly 300 people have been arrested in the past week in a crackdown on Assad loyalists.
Those arrested include pro-Assad fighters, former army personnel and informants. The head of the organization, Rami Abdel Rahman, said that these arrest operations were conducted with the help of local people.
Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported that raids were carried out this week targeting members of Assad's militia. Arms and ammunition were seized in the operation.
Source: BBC
