New Syria Parliament Holds 1st Session 07/13 06:29

   

   DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- Syria's newly elected parliament on Sunday held its 
first session since the ouster of former President Bashar Assad, hoping to 
restart the legislative process in the country after years of conflict and 
autocratic rule.

   The launch of the parliament indicates Syria is moving ahead with drafting 
new laws as it recovers from decades of brutal rule under the Assad family and 
a deadly civil war that killed about half a million people.

   Two-thirds of the 210-member People's Assembly were elected through 
electoral colleges, while one-third were appointed directly by the country's 
interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The new parliament will serve a 30-month 
term while preparing for future elections.

   "After liberating our homeland and regaining our freedom, we are all moving 
toward consolidating the state," al-Sharaa said in an address to 
parliamentarians.

   After taking an oath, the legislators elected Abdul Hamid al-Awak as 
speaker. Al-Awak, who is from northeastern Hassakeh province, served as a judge 
in the Justice Ministry for a decade, according to Syria's state-run SANA news 
agency. Reports said he was among many Syrian officials who defected from the 
Assad government in the early days of the uprising and left to Turkey.