Rojava preparing candidates’ lists for potential state positions: Report

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) are preparing lists of people to potentially assume positions in the Syrian interim government as part of the integration process, a local media outlet in the Kurdish-led enclave reported on Monday.

Hawar News Agency (ANHA), affiliated with the Rojava authorities, cited unnamed sources from the Kurdish-led administration as stating that the preparation of the lists is aimed at ensuring the active participation of Rojava communities in Syrian state institutions.

The Kurdish authorities will focus on two criteria - specialization, competence, and experience - in determining the lists, the sources told ANHA.

The efforts are part of the January 29 integration agreement between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the de facto army in Rojava, and the interim government in Damascus. The comprehensive deal includes the integration of the SDF and Rojava’s civil structures under the Syrian state.

SDF commanders and Rojava officials have already assumed several state positions since the agreement came into effect earlier this year, including a deputy defense minister, a deputy head of local security forces in the Kurdish-majority Hasaka province in Rojava, alongside a number of mayors.

The newly appointed Hasaka governor Nour al-Din Issa Ahmed, an affiliate of the SDF, told Rudaw last week that the integration process is moving forward smoothly, adding that no timeline has been set for its completion.

However, a senior Rojava official said on Monday that the process is moving “slowly.”

“Syria needs a new constitution, and its drafting committee must include representatives from all components,” Elham Ahmad, co-chair of Rojava’s foreign relations department, told ANHA.