Syrian Kurds demand redo of new constitution

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish organizations in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Friday rejected the constitutional declaration adopted by the interim government. The political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) demanded it be redrafted.

“We, the Syrian Democratic Council, declare our complete rejection of the constitutional declaration submitted by the interim government,” read a statement from the council (the SDC).

The 53-article interim constitution, which centers on Islamic jurisprudence, stipulates that Syria’s president must be a Muslim and sets a five-year transitional period. It also retains the country's official name as the Syrian Arab Republic.

During a ceremony on Thursday to sign the document, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa expressed hope that it would mark “a new chapter in Syria’s history, one where ignorance is replaced with knowledge and oppression with justice.”

According to the SDC, the temporary constitution reintroduces authoritarianism in a new guise by solidifying centralized rule and granting unchecked power to the executive authority. It also limits political activity and halts the formation of political parties, and fails to address the lack of clear mechanisms for transitional justice.

“The SDC strongly reject any attempt to recreate dictatorship under the guise of a ‘transitional phase.’ Any constitutional declaration must be the result of genuine national consensus, not a project imposed by one party,” the council said, calling “for a complete reformulation of the declaration. It must ensure a fair distribution of power, guarantee freedom of political activity, and recognize the rights of all Syrian components. Furthermore, it should adopt a decentralized democratic system of governance with clear mechanisms for achieving transitional justice.”

The interim constitution grants Sharaa exclusive executive power, the authority to appoint one-third of the legislature, and the ability to appoint judges to the constitutional court, which is the body that can hold him accountable.

An umbrella group of Kurdish opposition parties, the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC), also has objections about the constitution.

“We were surprised by the constitutional declaration issued in Damascus on March 13, 2025, which was disappointing and far from the aspirations of building a democratic state that reflects the true diversity of Syrian society,” ENKS said in a statement, adding, “this declaration was prepared by a committee that does not represent the various political, ethnic, and religious components, depriving it of inclusivity and national consensus, and leading to the entrenchment of exclusionary and monopolistic governance.”

The temporary constitution “ignored Syria’s pluralistic nature and its reality as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state” and “failed to guarantee the national and religious rights of its communities and instead reinforced a singular national identity in the state's name, explicitly excluding other components,” it added.

ENKS also expressed concern that the document strengthens centralized rule, gives the president powers without any safeguards, and limits women’s role, “thereby perpetuating a restrictive and authoritarian approach toward society.”

Sharaa was appointed interim president in January after his Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a swift offensive that toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad in December. The new authorities in Damascus annulled the constitution, dissolved the parliament, and disbanded the army. Sharaa then vowed to form an inclusive transitional government that would reflect the country’s diversity, hold "free and fair elections," and preserve "civil peace" and Syria’s territorial unity.

The committee that drafted the constitutional declaration was criticized for its exclusion of ethnic and religious communities in Syria. Members of Syria’s Christian and Druze communities have also voiced their discontent with the interim constitution, highlighting their exclusion from the committee tasked with its creation.

Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement on Monday to integrate all civil and military institutions in the predominantly Kurdish northeast into the state institutions and to hand over control of border crossings and oil fields.

The SDF is the main ally of the United States-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS). It is also the de facto army of Rojava.

Updated at 03:11 pm