Politics in the Syrian Arab Republic takes place in the framework of a semi-presidential republic with multiparty representation. President Bashar al-Assad, and his Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party have remained dominant forces in the country’s politics since the 1970 coup d’état.

 

Until the early stages of the Syrian uprising, the president had broad and unchecked decree authority under a long-standing state of emergency. The end of this emergency was a key demand of the uprising, and decrees are now subject to approval by the People’s Council, the country’s legislature. The Ba’ath Party is Syria’s ruling party and the previous Syrian constitution of 1973 stated that “the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party leads society and the state.” At least 167 seats of the 250-member parliament were guaranteed for the National Progressive Front, which is a coalition of the Ba’ath Party and several other much smaller allied parties.

The new Syrian constitution of 2012 introduced multi-party system based on the principle of political pluralism without guaranteed leadership of any political party. The Syrian army and security services maintained a considerable presence in the neighbouring Lebanese Republic from 1975 until 24 April 2005.