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Conflict in Syria

UN envoy has leeway to pick constitutional commission members — Syrian politician

The participants in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress have agreed to form a constitutional commission, which will begin to draft proposals for the country’s Constitution

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura

© AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has latitude in choosing candidates to the constitutional commission that is being set up, Qadri Jamil, a representative from the Syrian opposition’s Moscow Group, told reporters at a news conference on Friday.

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"One hundred people are candidates from the government and the pro-regime (internal, moderate) opposition, while fifty others are representatives of the (external) opposition," Jamil said. "Staffan de Mistura can include his candidates on the list. The constitutional commission is a non-elected body. De Mistura is currently at liberty to choose. He will make a decision after consultations with the parties."

According to Jamil, the Syrian Constitution is expected to be finalized in Damascus.

The participants in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi on January 30 have agreed to form a constitutional commission (the list of its 150 candidates has been approved), which, together with de Mistura, will begin to draft proposals for the country’s Constitution.

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Syrian conflict

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