Summary Syrian President announced Monday that parliamentary elections are to be held on April 13.
DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced Monday that parliamentary elections are to be held on April 13, state news agency SANA reported, shortly after Washington and Moscow announced a ceasefire plan.
Assad issued a decree which included seat allocations for each of the provinces in Syria, which last held parliamentary elections in May 2012.
That was the first time that multiple parties -- not just the ruling Baath party -- were allowed to stand.
Still, most of the 250 members of parliament that were elected for four-year terms were Baath members.
At the time, Assad appointed then-agriculture minister Riad Hijab to be Syria s new prime minister.
Hijab has since defected and now leads the main opposition grouping to Assad s regime from the Saudi capital Riyadh.
More than 260,000 people have been killed since Syria s conflict erupted in March 2011, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.
At a November meeting in Vienna, world powers agreed on an ambitious but yet to be implemented road map that foresees six months of intra-Syrian talks, leading to a new constitution and free elections within 18 months.
