Syrian Opposition Urges to Rewrite Constitution Only After 2016 Elections

The Syrian opposition calls for a temporary freeze of the constitution before the 2016 Syrian parliamentary elections and the subsequent formation of a new basic law, one of the participants of the Astana conference on the Syrian settlement told RIA Novosti on Sunday.

ASTANA (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, the participants of the conference signed the text of the final declaration following two-day talks. A call to rewrite the constitution is enshrined in the declaration, Mahmoud Afandi said.

“New points include a call to freeze the current constitution until the parliamentary elections, so that the parliament subsequently formulated a new basic law."

The participant of the conference added that according to the draft of the opposition, the parliament elected in 2016 "will have unlimited powers."

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011. The country’s government forces are fighting a number of opposition groups, as well as radical Islamist militant organizations, including the Nusra Front and ISIL.

The previous Astana conference in May saw Syrian opposition groups signing a document calling for the withdrawal of all foreign mercenaries from Syria and stressing the necessity to form a unified front to counter terrorism.