13.07.2026 02:01
Following the overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria, Abdulhamid Awak, a legal scholar who served as an academic in Turkey for many years, was elected as the head of the first People's Assembly. Awak, who received 99 votes in the assembly that will serve for 30 months as part of the transitional period, had been working at Mardin Artuklu University since 2016. The Syrian constitutional law expert, who is part of the senior ranks of the new administration in Damascus, also chaired the country's Interim Constitutional Declaration Preparation Committee.
The head of the first People's Assembly established in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime is Abdülhamit Avvak, a legal scholar who served as an academic in Turkey for many years. Like many Syrian figures working in international law and constitutional law in Turkey, Avvak has taken a senior position in the new administration in Damascus.
ELECTION COMPETITION: ELECTED PRESIDENT WITH 99 VOTES
A presidential election was held in the People's Assembly, which was established as part of Syria's transitional administration and has a term of 30 months. Abdülhamit Avvak, who surpassed his rivals in the vote, secured 99 votes and became the president. Among the other candidates in the election, Müeyyed Kabalavi received 75 votes, while Muhammed Korej received 31 votes.
FROM HIS OFFICE IN MARDIN TO THE SPEAKERSHIP IN DAMASCUS
Avvak, born in Hasakeh and a graduate of the University of Aleppo's Faculty of Law, worked as a judge in his country before being forced to leave Syria and taking refuge in Turkey. Since 2016, he has taught as a faculty member at Mardin Artuklu University's Faculty of Political Science and Department of International Relations, focusing his academic work on Syria's constitutional structure and transition process. During his time in Turkey, the legal scholar provided training to members of the Syrian opposition's constitutional commission and became one of the architects of the new era.
HE WAS THE HEAD OF THE NEW CONSTITUTION
After the regime change in Syria, Avvak quickly rose to prominence in Damascus, serving as the chairman and spokesperson of the Interim Constitutional Declaration Preparation Committee established by the new administration. In this critical role, he worked on the constitutional principles of the transition period, fundamental rights and freedoms, and the principle of separation of powers. Avvak's election as Speaker of the People's Assembly is seen as one of the most important turning points in shaping Syria's new legislative body and political structure.