ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—A draft of a proposed new Syrian constitution promotes a decentralized government and greater minority rights. Lawmakers in Damascus drafted the document in March, reported the United Arab Emirates’ news outlet Gulf News today. The document was then presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who shared it with US Secretary of State John Kerry. The draft is expected to be made public by August 1, as directed under a UN Security Council resolution. Under the new constitution, reported Gulf News, the authority of Damascus would be greatly reduced with increasing powers given to regional authorities. Districts would be able to elect their own governor, rather than governors being appointed by Damascus as under the current system. And full legislative powers would be given to local parliaments, with the right to elect their own deputies to represent them in Damascus. Parliaments, both local and the central one, would also be given greater powers to vote down decisions of the cabinet of ministers, something that was the sole purview of the president under the current constitution. More power would be taken out of the president’s hands and given to the parliament, which would have the power to make appointments to the Higher Constitutional Court and the Central Bank of Syria. Minority groups would be given more rights. Kurds would be given the constitutional right to speak Kurdish, on equal footing with Arabic. And the word Arab would be dropped from the name of the country, a demand from minority groups who make up some 10% of the population. In addition, representation from all minorities would be assured in the highest echelons as the prime minister and his or her deputies cannot be from the same ethnic group. The presidential term is limited to a maximum of two seven-year terms and the president’s legislative powers have been abolished. Presidential duties under the new constitution are defined as a “liaison between state and society,” though the president remains head of the Syrian Army. The army, under the new constitution, would be barred from any political activities. It would have no say in international affairs, and paramilitary forces and militias would be banned. Increased recognition of religious minorities would also be promoted under the new constitution, which dropped the requirement that the president be Muslim, opening the way for Christians and other non-Muslim minorities to seek the top office in the country. According to the CIA World Factbook, Syria is 87% Muslim and 10% Christian. It also has small numbers of Druze and Jews. It the draft constitution is accepted, it will replace the current document which was written in February 2012, one year after the start of the Syrian civil war. The current constitution aimed at the time to appease the anti-government protesters.
