Syria after the election and the betrayal of Western values - opinion - Ahmed Mardin

 

by Ahmed Mardin

The political exclusion of Syria’s democratic and secular forces, including Kurdish and Druze communities, is concerning.

 

VOTES ARE counted for candidates in the election of a new Syrian parliament, in Aleppo, last Sunday. It does not mark a new beginning, just a continuation of authoritarian power under a new leadership, the writer maintains.

(photo credit: REUTERS/MAHMOUD HASSANO)

The recent parliamentary elections in Syria do not mark a democratic new beginning but rather the continuation of authoritarian power under a new leadership. The so-called transitional process under Ahmed al-Sharaa has produced a political structure that is far removed from democratic legitimacy.

One-third of the 210 members of parliament were directly appointed by the transitional president; the remaining seats went to individuals selected through committees closely linked to the organization Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). There was no sign of a free or inclusive electoral process; the population was effectively excluded.

Particularly alarming is the political exclusion of Syria’s democratic and secular forces, including Kurdish and Druze communities, which in recent years have played a central role in defending local autonomy and fighting Islamist terrorism. Regions such as Sweida, Hasakah, and Raqqa were entirely excluded from the election. As a result, a system has emerged that reflects neither the country’s ethnic and religious diversity nor allows genuine social participation.

While these developments unfold, the reaction of Western states remains strikingly muted. Neither the United States nor European governments have voiced serious criticism of the new Syrian parliament’s lack of legitimacy. Instead, geopolitical and economic considerations dominate the political discourse.

A drone view shows the Syrian parliament, as the Syrian government announces that it will hold the first parliamentary elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, in Damascus, Syria, September 21, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/MAHMOUD HASSANO)

The current US administration is seeking closer ties with the wealthy Gulf states – Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – to secure capital flows and political cooperation. These countries, in turn, have engaged in targeted lobbying on behalf of groups ideologically aligned with the jihadist movements of recent years.

In a remarkable contradiction to their own security doctrines, actors with radical Islamist ideologies, whose political thinking closely resembles that of the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS), are now being accepted as legitimate political forces and received at the highest diplomatic level.

MEANWHILE, THOSE who once fought side by side with Western partners against ISIS, defending secular and democratic principles, particularly Kurdish and secular Arab structures, are receiving diminishing political and material support.

This contradiction exposes the moral erosion of Western policy. The West continues to invoke democracy, the rule of law, and gender equality, yet in practice tolerates the rehabilitation of Islamist forces as long as this serves short-term geopolitical interests.

This is more than inconsistency; it is a strategic and ethical regression. While secular and pluralistic forces are marginalized, authoritarian and religious-fundamentalist actors are politically elevated.

Power structures in Syria

The Syrian “transitional order” is therefore not a step toward democracy but an attempt to stabilize old power structures under international tolerance. As long as Western governments are willing to subordinate their principles to economic and security interests, they will continue to lose credibility as defenders of democratic values.

What is emerging in Syria is not only a crisis of regional order but also a crisis of Western coherence. The moral legitimacy of Western policy depends on whether it is prepared to stand by those who genuinely fight for freedom, equality, and secularism – and not those who merely pay lip service to these values while promoting the opposite in practice.

Syria today is a test for the West. Those who remain silent here lose not only politically, but morally as well.

Ahmed Mardin is a Kurdish exiled journalist, political analyst, and Middle East observer focusing on Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Kurdish affairs. a.mardin@icloud.com

Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-870089

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