![Gideon Sa'ar, Likud Party member speaks at a campaign rally on December 16, 2019 in Or Yehuda, Israel. [Amir Levy/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GettyImages-1189039806.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has criticised the new Syrian administration for suggesting that elections would be held after four years.
Sa’ar posted on X yesterday that he had spoken by phone with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and discussed the situation in Syria claiming that he had emphasised the urgent need to protect minorities in Syria, including Kurds, Alawites and Christians.
“I added that the new government in Damascus was not democratically elected, but what is more worrying is that they are now announcing that elections will not be held until after four years,” he added.
Earlier on Sunday, Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, said holding elections in the country could take up to four years.
Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, Al-Sharaa told Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya. He also said that it would take about a year for Syrians to see drastic changes in their country.
According to Al-Sharaa more than 15 million Syrians have left the country since 2011 which complicates conducting accurate consensus, noting that many Syrians in the diaspora lack permanent civil records.
Al-Sharaa stressed that elections will not be possible before preparing an appropriate infrastructure that includes accurate consensus and legal communication with Syrian communities abroad.
He pointed out that holding elections without these preparations will lead to a loss of credibility.
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