Succeeding Nasr al-Hariri, the Syrian National Coalition elects Salem al-Maslat as its president
The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces elected a president and deputies, in addition to the Secretary-General, after elections that took place on Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
Salem Al-Maslat was elected president of the coalition to succeed Dr. Nasr Al-Hariri, after he managed to obtain more than 70 votes out of a total of 81 votes who attended the meeting, according to what Anadolu Agency reported.
The agency stated that Ruba Habbush was re-elected to the position of Vice President after obtaining 64 votes, and the appointment of Abdel Ahad Astifu as Second Vice President after obtaining 57 votes, in addition to the appointment of the Syrian opposition leader Haitham Rahma as Secretary General of the Coalition after obtaining 68 votes.
The process of “elections” for the presidency of the coalition took place after the end of the term of its former president, Nasr Hariri.
The “elections” process took place against the backdrop of the meetings of the General Assembly of the Coalition, which began yesterday in Istanbul, and will end on Wednesday.
Salem al-Maslat, head of the Syrian Tribes and Clans Council, will head the Syrian National Coalition for a year, which can be extended for a second year through elections.
Al-Maslat holds the presidency of the Council of Tribes and Clans, which is one of the components of the Syrian coalition. He was born in Al-Hasakah Governorate in 1959, and holds a BA in political science.
Al-Maslat, the elected president of the Syrian coalition, worked as a researcher at the Gulf Research Center, and was a member of the High Negotiations Committee and its official spokesperson at the Geneva Commissions.
The leadership of the National Coalition for the Forces of the Revolution and the Syrian Opposition was alternated by an enemy of personalities, including Anas al-Abdeh, the current head of the Syrian Negotiating Committee, preceded by Khaled al-Khouja, and Nasr al-Hariri, the outgoing president yesterday.
The Syrian National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces was established in November 2012 in the Qatari capital, Doha, and presents itself as an umbrella for the opposition against the Assad regime.
