Syria holds first elections since Assad, but not in all provinces

Three provinces will not be included "for security reasons", amid concerns over how representative the polls will be.

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There will be no direct vote for the People's Assembly, which will be responsible for legislation during a transitional period.

Instead, "electoral colleges" will select representatives for two-thirds of the 210 seats. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa will appoint the rest.

Long-time former President Assad was ousted by Sharaa's forces 10 months ago after a 13-year civil war.

Authorities say they have postponed the polls for security reasons in two Kurdish- controlled provinces and a third which saw deadly fighting between government forces and Druze militias.