New SDC co-chairs elected in northeast Syria

The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) on Wednesday elected two new co-chairs.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2023/12/20 23:17

Layla Qahraman and Dr. Mahmoud al-Meslat were elected as SDC co-chairs (Photo: SDC)

Syria Syrian Democratic Council Layla Qahraman Mahmoud al-Meslat

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Wednesday elected Layla Qahraman and Dr. Mahmoud al-Meslat as its co-chairs.

Al-Meslat, a Syria-American expert at Oberlin College who hails from a prominent Arab family from the Jibour tribe,is close to the Syrian opposition, and met with Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the past.

Originally from Hasakah, he was also one of the founders of the Syrian National Renaissance Party, headed by the Foreign Relations Office of the Syrian National Council in the US and Canada at the beginning of the Council’s formation.

Layla Qeraman and Dr. Mahmoud al-Mislet elected Co-chairs of the Syrian Democratic Council. pic.twitter.com/9I28jUWcMu
— Syrian Democratic Council SDC (@SDCPress) December 20, 2023

They were elected as the Fourth Conference of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) commenced, replacing SDC co-chairs Amina Omar and Riad Darar.

Speeches were delivered by a large number of attendees, including the newly elected co-chairs, the Commander-in-Chief of the SDF Mazloum Abdi, and senior officials of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).

The SDC, was formed in December 2015 at a conference in northeastern Syria with the stated aim of promoting a secular, democratic vision for the country. The political entity touts itself as ethnically diverse, as it comprises Kurds, Arabs and minorities.

The leadership change in the SDC comes a week after the DAANES General Council adopted a new social contract, paving the way for local elections, and in which the AANES was renamed as DAANES.

During the Fourth Conference, senior official Amina Omar underlined the importance of establishing a decentralized democratic Syria, emphasizing its foundation is based on an inclusive national identity and one that guarantees the rights of all components of the Syrian people.

Moreover, she said decentralization could provide a good solution to the Syrian conflict, as proven by the establishment of the autonomous administration in northeast Syria after the SDF liberated territories from ISIS.