Syria will hold its first parliamentary elections on Sunday since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, amid concerns over inclusivity and successive delays.
There will be no direct vote for the People's Assembly, which will be responsible for legislation during a transitional period.
Instead, electoral colleges will select representatives for two-thirds of the 210 seats. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa will appoint the rest.
Long-time former President Assad was ousted by Sharaa's forces 10 months ago after a 13-year civil war.
Authorities say they have postponed the polls for security reasons in two Kurdish-controlled provinces and a third which saw deadly fighting between government forces and Druze militias.
The clashes in July marked another outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria since Assad's overthrow.
In a speech at the UN General Assembly last week - the first by a Syrian president in 60 years - Sharaa promised to bring to justice everyone responsible for the bloodshed, as well as those who committed atrocities under Assad.
He also pledged that Syria was now 'rebuilding itself through establishing a new state, building institutions and laws that guarantee the rights of all without exception'.
Sunday's polls are being overseen by the Higher Committee for the Syrian People's Assembly Elections, whose 11 members were chosen by the president in June.
The number of seats allocated in each of 60 districts is based on census data from 2010 - the year before the civil war began, which has killed over 600,000 people and displaced another 12 million.
The postponement of elections in Raqqa, Hassakeh, and Suweida means electoral colleges in only 50 out of 60 districts will pick representatives for about 120 seats on Sunday.
There will be more than 1,500 candidates, who must also be electoral college members. Supporters of 'the former regime or terrorist organizations' were barred from membership, as were advocates of 'secession, division or seeking foreign intervention'.
At least 20% of the electoral college members were required to be women. However, there were no minimum quotas for female lawmakers nor for those from the many ethnic and religious minorities.
14 Syrian civil society groups previously expressed concern that the president's direct influence over parliament's composition could undermine its intended function.
Sharaa defended the electoral process stating, 'As a transitional period, there is a difficulty to hold popular elections due to the loss of documents, and half of the population is outside of Syria, also without documents.'
Opposition voices indicate that the elections reflect an authoritarian mentality reminiscent of the past, raising questions about genuine representation in the current political landscape.
Residents in contested areas voiced skepticism over the electoral process, labeling it as more of an appointment rather than a true election.
