By 
19-06-2024
Giulia Fabrizi
Middle East and Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
On June 11, 2024, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) was supposed to hold the long-awaited municipal elections – the first since 2017. Eventually, they were postponed “until at least August” (Arab News, 2024). According to the Electoral Commission, the delay stems from the political parties’ need for longer campaigning times (Asia News, 2024). However, external pressures also seem to be at play.
Kurds in Syria have faced decades of oppression, marginalisation, and Arabisation policies at the hands of the Syrian Baath Party. In the midst of the 2011 uprisings, they started to envision an autonomous region in the north-eastern part of the country (Arab News, 2024), and by January 2014, three areas (now Afrin Region, Jazeera Region, and Euphrates Region) had declared their autonomy with an interim constitution (Wikipedia, 2024).
Today, the AANES counts 7 regions (Deir Ez-Zour, Raqqa, Manbij, and Tabqa, to add to the aforementioned three) inhabited by both Arabs and Kurds. This enlargement was mainly achieved as a result of Daesh’s defeat (Hoshang, 2024) to the YPG (People’s Protection Units), the dominant battalion of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) (Arab News, 2024). In 2017, voting involved some 3700 ‘communes’ across only three regions (Al Jazeera, 2017). Therefore, this year’s elections – envisioned since 2020 – will be the first ones involving all seven regions and circa 2.5 million voters (Hoshang, 2024). In light of this, officials, candidates, and political personalities, continue to stress the importance of voting to guarantee both representation at the local level and the improvement of services in the different regions (Arab News, 2024).
Around 18 parties, including the ruling Democratic Union Party (PYD) and independentists, are expected to run for a total of 5336 candidates to co-mayorship in 134 municipalities. Indeed, AANES’ Constitution, the Social Contract (that has been newly ratified), prescribes a system of co-mayorship where power in municipalities is shared between a man and a woman (Hoshang, 2024). PYD co-chair Saleh Muslim told AFP that the elections have been delayed officially due to internal reasons but added that “political circumstances” might have also been taken into account (Arab News, 2024).
Firstly, the US State Department, via its spokesperson Vedant Patel, has expressed concerns about the freeness, fairness, inclusivity, and transparency of these elections. Such fundamental requirements, he mentioned, should be guaranteed in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. As the US believes these conditions cannot be satisfied at the moment, it has advised actors in northeastern Syria to wait for a more suitable time (Hoshang, 2024).
Secondly, Türkiye has undoubtedly been AANES’ fiercest opponent ever since its creation. It deems both PYD and YPG offshoots of the outlawed PKK (Kurdish Workers’ Party) and, therefore, a threat to Turkish national security. Specifically, Türkiye sees this electoral process as an “aggressive action against the territorial integrity” of both Türkiye and Syria. “Türkiye will never allow the separatist organisation to establish [a State] just beyond its southern borders in the north of Syria and Iraq,” declared President Erdoğan on May 30 (Iddon, 2024). Devlet Bahceli, head of the ultra-nationalist party in Türkiye, MHP, suggested a coordinated military operation by Turkiye and government of Syria to destroy both the AANES and the Syrian Democratic Forces. He also criticised the US for supporting the Kurdish project, an evident menace to its NATO ally, Türkiye (Hoshang, 2024).
Since 2016, Turkiye has launched military operations aimed at expelling Kurdish forces from the border (Hoshang, 2024). Tensions peaked in January 2018 and October 2019 with two massive cross-border ground operations. More recently, Erdoğan has focused on intensifying drone strikes, killing civilians, and damaging water and electricity infrastructure (Iddon, 2024). The Syrian Observatory has recorded at least 78 drone airstrikes since early 2024, causing at least 25 casualties and injuring 21 combatants and 16 civilians (Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 2024).
Locals, longing for peace after a decade of war, fear a new series of attacks. Experts are unsure if Türkiye’s threats of another ground operation are actually on the table. Regardless, elections are needed to stabilise the region, improve inclusiveness and representation at the local level, and improve the overall living conditions in the AANES (Hoshang, 2024).
Sources and further readings:
Al Jazeera. (2017, September 22). Syrians vote in Kurdish-held northern region. Accessed on June 19, 2024. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/9/22/syrians-vote-in-kurdish-held-northern-region
Arab News. (2024, June 6). Syria’s Kurds delay controversial local elections. Accessed on June 19, 2024. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2524986/middle-east
Asia News. (2024, June 7). Elections in Syria’s north-eastern Kurdish region postponed after Turkish threats, US doubts. Accessed on June 19, 2024. https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Elections-in-Syrias-north-eastern-Kurdish-region-postponed-after-Turkish-threats,-US-doubts-60902.html
Hoshang, H. (2024, June 4). Elections in Northeast Syria: A Step Towards Stabilization Amid Regional Turmoil. Kurdish Peace Institute. Accessed on June 19, 2024. https://www.kurdishpeace.org/research/government/elections-in-northeast-syria-a-step-towards-stabilization-amid-regional-turmoil/
Iddon, P. (2024, June 5). Is Turkey gearing up for a new military offensive against Syria’s Kurds?. The New Arab. Accessed on June 19, 2024. https://www.newarab.com/analysis/turkey-gearing-new-offensive-against-syrias-kurds
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (2024, June 3). 78th attack in 2024 | Turkish drone attacks car in southern Ain Al-Arab (Kobani). Accessed on June 19, 2024. https://www.syriahr.com/en/335218/?doing_wp_cron=1718785860.8288938999176025390625
Wikipedia. (2024). Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Accessed on June 19, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_Administration_of_North_and_East_Syria
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