Legislative Branch
The People's Council (Majlis al-Sha'ab) has 250 members elected for a four year term in 15 multi-seat constituencies. According to previous Syrian constitution of 1973 Syria was a single-party state and only one political party, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was legally allowed to hold effective power. Of the 250 seats in the council, 167 were guaranteed for the National Progressive Front (founded in 1972) and 134 of these (as of 2007) were members of the Ba'ath Party. The minor parties in the Progressive Front, were legally required to accept the leadership of the Ba'ath Party. The other parties in the Progressive Front, for example, are not allowed to canvass for supporters in the army or the student body which are "reserved exclusively for the Ba'ath." The new Syrian constitution of 2012 introduced multi-party system without guaranted leadership of any political party.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Syria
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