A Syrian lawmaker criticized Tuesday President Bashar Assad's government, called for a new constitution and said state-run institutions must be modernized.
"Unless we modernize our constitutional life, we cannot modernize state mechanisms and constitutional institutions," Munther al-Mousalli told a press conference in Damascus .
Al-Mousalli demanded that the government pave the legislative groundwork for a new national constitution. "A new constitution and new parliamentary elections law are the key for the process of modernization and development. Otherwise we will keep running but going nowhere," he said, according to AP.
Al-Mousalli said most of Assad's political aides have not responded to presidential calls for modernization, in particular to end rampant state corruption and separate the executive, legislative and judicial branches of power.
The lawmaker said Assad's aides, whom he did not identify, were hindering the role of the Syrian parliament.
Syrians are expected to elect a new parliament in February. Al-Mousalli said "reforming the People's Assembly must start with reviewing the current elections law."
In a memorandum to the parliament's speaker, al-Mousalli questioned whether the 250-member legislature was qualified to "complete the road to modernization." (Albawaba.com)
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