Syrians are voting indirectly, and President Ahmed al-Shara is appointing a third of the lawmakers. Still, some see this as a step forward after decades of dictatorship.

Three provinces will not be included "for security reasons", amid concerns over how representative the polls will be.

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…