Syrian president Ahmed Al-Sharaa greets participants in the National Dialogue Conference last month [Getty]
A new Syrian government will be announced on Saturday, the website of the Saudi-owned pan-Arab news channel Al-Arabiya reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.
A new Islamic fatwa council, headed by a mufti, will be announced on Friday, according to Al-Arabiya.
After Syrian rebels led by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group ousted longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, they appointed an interim government headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir for a period of three months.
The appointment of a new government was originally expected at the beginning of the month.
Earlier this month, Syrian authorities also approved a controversial constitutional document which will be in force for a period of five years, during which interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa will assume executive authority in the country, while being able to appoint legislators and judges.
Al-Jazeera reported earlier this week that the new government will consist of 22 ministerial portfolios, with most ministers being new appointees.
Sources who spoke to Al-Jazeera said that the government would be technocratic, with ministers selected on the basis of competence, and that Syria’s minorities would not be excluded.
Last January, in his first address to the Syrian nation, Al-Sharaa said “We will work on forming a transitional government that will build Syria’s new institutions, paving the way for free and fair elections.”
Al-Sharaa, however, has also said that it would take five years for the country to hold elections.
