Source: China Daily

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has decreed to hold a referendum for a new constitution on Feb 26, the official SANA state news agency reported on Wednesday.

“President Bashar al-Assad issued today a decree setting Sunday, Feb 26, as the date for the referendum on the draft constitution,” SANA reported.

Syrian state television said the new constitution would allow the “people to govern the people” under a new multi-party democratic system.

It said that under the proposed text, freedom is “a sacred right” and that any violation of personal freedom is considered a crime punishable by law.

Assad received a copy of the draft constitution on Sunday from the head of a national committee entrusted with drafting a new constitution, SANA said, adding that after the president reviewed the draft it would then be referred to the People’s Assembly before being put up for a referendum.

The committee’s members stressed that the new constitution had been written in a way that would preserve the dignity and rights of the Syrian people, according to SANA.

The committee has also decided to limit the presidential terms to a maximum of two seven-year mandates.

The Syrian president decreed the formation of a national committee on Oct 15 to prepare a draft constitution within four months. The committee comprises 29 academics, lawyers and opposition figures.

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