ISTANBUL — A former agriculture minister and an
economist are leading candidates to be named Syria’s first rebel prime
minister when the opposition Syrian National Coalition meets to vote in
Turkey this week.
The two men are among around 10 opposition figures Coalition members are expected to consider during their gathering in Istanbul on March 18 and 19.
The list includes virtual unknowns, as well as some prominent members of the opposition to President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, with former agriculture minister Asaad Mustapha and economist Osama Kadi believed to be leading the pack.
In moving to select a rebel premier, who will choose a cabinet to be approved by the Coalition, the opposition is hoping to show it can administer large swathes of captured territory where there is now a power vacuum.
“There is a real need in the liberated areas for better administration of daily life,” Damascus-based activist Matar Ismail told AFP.
“There should be a civilian authority that acts as an alternative power to the Assad government.”
Opposition members said they wanted a good administrator with long-standing ties to the uprising, although nations backing the rebels are also likely to influence the choice. “The prime minister must be a man who is completely with the revolution, and it is better that it be someone who was in Syria until recently, not someone who has lived abroad for a long time,” opposition figure Haytham Al-Maleh said.
“The next prime minister won’t be chosen on the basis of whose name is most circulated in the media, but on the basis of who is best able to lead a government that takes care of the Syrian people and addresses their most pressing needs,” added Ahmed Ramadan, a member of the Syrian National Coalition.
Christian dissident Michel Kilo, has already made clear he will not be standing. Neither former Syrian National Council head Burhan Ghalioun nor defected ex-premier Riad Hijab appear on the current list. — AFP
The two men are among around 10 opposition figures Coalition members are expected to consider during their gathering in Istanbul on March 18 and 19.
The list includes virtual unknowns, as well as some prominent members of the opposition to President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, with former agriculture minister Asaad Mustapha and economist Osama Kadi believed to be leading the pack.
In moving to select a rebel premier, who will choose a cabinet to be approved by the Coalition, the opposition is hoping to show it can administer large swathes of captured territory where there is now a power vacuum.
“There is a real need in the liberated areas for better administration of daily life,” Damascus-based activist Matar Ismail told AFP.
“There should be a civilian authority that acts as an alternative power to the Assad government.”
Opposition members said they wanted a good administrator with long-standing ties to the uprising, although nations backing the rebels are also likely to influence the choice. “The prime minister must be a man who is completely with the revolution, and it is better that it be someone who was in Syria until recently, not someone who has lived abroad for a long time,” opposition figure Haytham Al-Maleh said.
“The next prime minister won’t be chosen on the basis of whose name is most circulated in the media, but on the basis of who is best able to lead a government that takes care of the Syrian people and addresses their most pressing needs,” added Ahmed Ramadan, a member of the Syrian National Coalition.
Christian dissident Michel Kilo, has already made clear he will not be standing. Neither former Syrian National Council head Burhan Ghalioun nor defected ex-premier Riad Hijab appear on the current list. — AFP
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