Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was named president of the country during its transitional period less than two months after Bashar al-Assad was toppled.
Addressing a military conference, the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) chief declared that the group’s priority in Syria was to fill a vacuum in government “in a legitimate and legal way”.
A raft of announcements emerged during the closed-door meeting in Damascus, attended by commanders of armed groups that fought alongside al-Sharaa to oust Assad on 8 December.
The Military Operations Command declared Al-Sharaa president of Syria during the transitional phase.
Commander Hassan Abdel Ghani announced that the leader has been named the new president until elections are held, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
During what was called his ‘victory speech’, the new president outlined Syria’s future roadmap and announced the dissolution of the Ba’ath Party, armed factions into a new Syrian army.
The new appointment authorises Al-Sharaa to form a temporary legislative council for the transitional phase, which will continue its governing tasks until a new constitution is adopted.
All military factions in Syria as well as the HTS were dissolved, as was the country’s constitution and al-Assad’s Baath party – which was in power for more than six decades prior to the 8 December 2024 rebel takeover.
How have Syrians reacted to the announcements?
In Damascus, large crowds gathered in Umayyad Square to celebrate what they viewed as the dawn of a new era. People waved Syrian flags and chanted slogans in support of Al-Sharaa’s leadership.
However, for many people, Al-Sharaa’s announcement brought more questions than answers.
Syrian journalist and activist Hussam Hammoud, who has closely followed the developments, said the speech was “disappointing on multiple levels”.
Hammoud criticised the lack of transparency around the event, which was held behind closed doors and communicated to the public only through state-controlled media.
He told The New Arab: “There was no clarity about the process. The announcement was made without any transparency, leaving us with more questions than answers.”
The absence of independent media and a broad-based consultation process, he argued, diminished the legitimacy of the decision in the eyes of many Syrians.
“The meeting was only attended by military personnel and a few trusted civilian faces, like the foreign minister and the spokesperson of the administration. It’s as though the revolution, which included the sacrifice of families and civilians, has been reduced to a military victory,” he says.
“This is not just about the fighters; it’s about all Syrians who have been fighting for 14 years.”
A coup?
For Hammoud, the decision to appoint Al-Sharaa and dissolve key institutions was more akin to a coup than a revolutionary moment. “We don’t know who was behind the dissolution of parliament and the cancelling of the 2012 Syrian constitution,” he says.
He also raised concerns about the fate of Syria’s revolutionary political bodies. In recent weeks, the caretaker government appointed figures loyal to the HTS to key positions, raising further questions about the lack of wider political participation.
“The government doesn’t have the right to cancel or reform revolutionary political and civilian institutions formed by the people,” Hammoud argued. “Syria needs independent civilian bodies to work alongside the government. We don’t want to return to a one-party, one-pool government again.”
But Hammoud also argued that the group is trying to keep public announcements out of public scrutiny as part of a broader campaign to be removed from international terrorism lists.
HTS continues to be a proscribed terrorist organisation in the US and the UK, due to its previous links to Al-Qaeda, even though Al-Sharaa has met with US and UK officials.
During his address, Syrian media spokesperson Mohammed Al-Faisal claimed that the new government has widespread support among journalists. He said: “Honest and free Syrian journalists are a treasure in the new Syrian leadership.”
Hammoud however argued that many Syrian media professionals continue to feel sidelined and disenfranchised, especially after years of censorship and repression under Assad’s regime. “Many feel out of the formula, they are not empowered to do their job,” he says.
In Qatar, the government restructuring was warmly welcomed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hailed the interim administration for “paving the way for consolidating civil peace, security and stability”.
