Khaberni - The People's Assembly in Syria began its first session today, Sunday, with the presence of the president Ahmad Al-Shar` and the head of the Supreme Committee for Elections Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad, who opened the session and called on the Assembly members to take the oath, before temporarily handing over the presidency to the oldest member.
Al-Ahmad considered in his speech that opened the council's proceedings that "today's session is historic, representing the blood of the martyrs and a historical moment where we declare to the world that Syria has shaken off the dust of war."
He said, "The real value of what we have reached today cannot be measured by words, but by the size of the sacrifices made by the great Syrian people."
The members of the council took the collective oath, after which they commenced their duties on the council and enjoyed parliamentary immunity, as stipulated by Article 42 of the temporary electoral system.
Subsequently, Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shar` delivered a speech in which he stated, "Syria is writing a glorious history which reflects its heroisms, and we are before a responsibility to build the nation and the individual, prioritizing responsibility."
He invited the council members to make it "a model of responsibility and efficiency, and to contribute to consolidating the culture of dialogue, the rule of law and respect for institutions."
Afterward, Mohammad Taha Al-Ahmad, the head of the Supreme Committee for Elections, called the oldest council member to preside over the session and the youngest to be the secretary, in accordance with Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration and Article 39 of the temporary electoral system of the People's Assembly.
The council was then chaired by deputy Osama Al-Assaf, as the eldest member, who invited the members of the temporary legal committee to supervise the electoral process and the counting of votes and to establish electoral procedures for the Presidential Office of the People's Assembly.
The new assembly consists of 210 members, 140 of whom were elected through electoral bodies across different Syrian provinces, while the president appointed 70 members according to his powers in the Constitutional Declaration.
