DAMASCUS: Members of local committees in Syria began on Sunday selecting members of a transitional parliament, in a process criticized as undemocratic, with a third of the members appointed directly by interim leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa. The assembly’s formation is set to consolidate the power of Sharaa, whose Islamist forces led a coalition that toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December after more than 13 years of civil war.

DAMASCUS: Members of local committees in Syria began on Sunday selecting members of a transitional parliament, in a process criticized as undemocratic, with a third of the members…

A third of the members are appointed by interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has said it is impossible to hold direct elections now.