The Kurdish-led North and East Syria Democratic Autonomous Administration (AANES) has opposed the new 22-member cabinet announced by Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on 29 March. The AANES, governing a region with significant Kurdish, Arab and other minority populations, said that the cabinet fails to represent Syria’s multi-ethnic society. This view is shared by the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Future Syria Party (FSP) and residents of Suwayda, a Druze-majority city in southern Syria.
The new cabinet, formed four months after Bashar al-Assad’s removal from power on 8 December, includes only one woman, Hind Kabawat, and no representatives from the Kurdish community. This omission persists despite an agreement on 10 March to integrate the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the national framework. The AANES argued that this exclusion mirrors policies from past regimes, which fuelled a 14-year civil war, and declared it will not follow the cabinet’s decisions.
Other groups echoed this stance. The SDC highlighted the cabinet’s failure to include women and other societal segments adequately, rendering it unable to address Syria’s challenges. The PYD rejected it entirely, calling it unrepresentative of the country’s ethnic and political diversity. The FSP also objected, noting the lack of broad political inclusion. Hundreds protested in Druze-majority Suwayda, demanding a decentralised system reflecting local demands and the principles of Syria’s revolution.
North and East Syria, often called Rojava by its residents, has managed local affairs independently through the AANES since 2014. It joined the SDC and the Suwayda protesters in calling for a decentralised democracy where Kurds, Arabs, Alawites, Druze and Christians have equal representation. “No government that ignores Syria’s diverse voices can govern effectively,” the AANES stated. The United Nations and the United States are observing this transition, with the US tying sanctions relief to reforms that include diverse governance.
