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Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said it could take four years for the country to hold its first elections after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad.
In his first comments about the possible timing of the main stages of the country's political transformation, Sharaa he said “any effective election will require a comprehensive census”.
Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, said Sharaa, who used the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, in an interview with Saudi Arabian broadcasters al-Arabiya and al-Hadath on Sunday.
The longer-than-expected changes will affect western powers that have been urging Sharaa to create an inclusive regime. They are evaluating the lifting of sanctions on the Syrian state and the calling of terrorists to the Sharaa and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist movement that led the rebels to oust Assad.
Earlier this month, HTS appointed Mohamed al-Bashir as Syria's interim prime minister.
Bashir, who led a civilian administration in Idlib, a northwestern region that has been under HTS control for years, announced at the time that his cabinet, made up mainly of HTS members who had a role in the previous administration of Idlib, would do so. to form an acting government until March next year.
Sharaa also spoke about the key role of HTS in the transitional government, telling the media that “the current way of recruitment is a platform necessity” and “the quota system at this time will destroy the work of the transition”.
Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian National Coalition – the umbrella group of Assad's leading opponents at the time. The Syrian civil war — called for all opposition parties to be included in the transitional government.
He also laid out the A period of 18 months political transition, including a six-month period to draft a new constitution.
Sharaa also confirmed that HTS and other armed groups will be it was dissolved into new government powersalthough it is not certain that many groups in Syria will welcome his move.
The disbanding of HTS will be announced at the National Conference of leading opposition parties, ethnic and religious leaders and some officials of the Assad regime who do not have a military or security role.
The conference, the date of which has not yet been announced, is expected to announce the dissolution of the previous parliament and the cancellation of the previous constitution, as well as the establishment of an advisory council, organizers told Al Jazeera.
One of the most important groups outside the Sharaa sphere of influence is the US-led Kurdish, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls a large part of the country's northeast.
Sharaa said on Sunday that the HTS-led administration was negotiating with the SDF about the future status of the region.