Will Syria hold legitimate national leadership elections before the end of 2026?

Question

Syria underwent regime change on Dec 8th, 2024, when rebel forces took the capital, Damascus.

The former Syrian Prime Minister, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, has been appointed the head of the caretaker government during a transition period.

al-Jalali called for free elections to be held, in which the Syrian people can choose who they want to lead their country.

Will Syria hold such elections, before the end of 2026?

This market will resolve YES on a free election that elects a head of government or head of state, or members of a legislature that chooses (or the leading coalition of which chooses) a head of government or head of state, from its members or otherwise, or an election that elects electors to elect a head of government or head of state, or any other system through which it can be reasonably said for the people to have freely elected a head of government or head of state.

If the election is a sham, or if the leadership positions are merely symbolic and true power remains with an unelected leader, that won't be sufficient for a YES resolution. However an unelected president or monarch with reserve powers to dismiss governments or veto legislation is acceptable.

As the legitimacy of an election or the leadership roles may be a judgement call, I won't bet in this market.

Note: in the case of ambiguity over what counts as Syria, this market is about elections for a national government controlling territory that includes the city of Damascus.

Copy-pasting clarifications from 2025 market, which will also apply to this one:

Update 2024-09-12 (PST): - A constitutional referendum alone will not count as a legitimate election for this market (AI summary of creator comment)

Update 2025-08-07 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): Parliamentary elections will only count if they have the effect of electing a head of state or head of government (e.g. as in a parliamentary system), and only if said leadership position is not symbolic or a sham. This market is specifically about Syria freely electing its leader, so parliamentary elections may or may not qualify depending on the system they operate under.

Update 2025-08-13 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): - Indirect, multi-layer elections will count even with several layers, provided each layer (e.g., regional committees, parliament) is itself elected; appointed/unelected bodies in the chain will not count.

Suffrage scope: Universal suffrage is not required, but extremely limited franchise will not count; at least 30% of the national adult population should be eligible to vote.

Update 2025-10-14 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): The May 10, 2025 electoral college vote (approximately 6,000 voters selected through appointed committees) does not satisfy the resolution criteria, as it did not involve a significant fraction of the population being eligible to vote.

Manifold Markets · Answer

Unlikely — Manifold Markets prediction market estimates a 15% chance (53 traders, as of Mar 19, 2026).