A member of the Syrian People’s Assembly currently receives a monthly grant of $1,500, equivalent to $18,000 a year, according to Abdulnasser Houshan, head of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee in the Assembly.
In an interview with Al-Ikhbariya Al-Souriya, Houshan said that in addition to the monthly grant, a member receives $50 for each session attended, as well as a housing allowance of $300 for six months.
$18,000 a Year Per Member
The announced monthly grant of $1,500 means each member receives $18,000 over a full year, provided it continues to be paid at the same rate for 12 months.
For the Assembly’s 210 members, these grants amount to about $315,000 a month, or $3.78 million a year. But this figure does not represent the final cost of members’ allowances, since attendance fees of $50 per session and the $300 housing allowance for six months are added to it, according to Houshan.
The publicly available information does not include a total annual figure for session allowances, since the number of sessions members will attend during the year and the detailed method for calculating the allowance have not been specified.
Final Amount Not Settled
Houshan clarified that the current amounts do not necessarily represent the final form of the members’ allowances, noting that the final salary has not yet been settled within the draft general budget.
His remarks come as the People’s Assembly begins discussing the 2027 budget. Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Barnieh had discussed fiscal and economic policies and budget preparation procedures with the Assembly’s Budget and Accounts Committee and Financial Laws Committee, while the Assembly began discussing the draft 2027 budget ahead of its approval.
In earlier remarks, Barnieh said the 2027 budget had not yet been completed and that work was expected to be finished in the following period. He said the budget deficit was expected to be lower than the current year’s deficit of $1.8 billion.
210 Members, Allowances Not Final
The Syrian People’s Assembly currently has 210 members. The temporary electoral system ratified by Syria’s transitional-period President Ahmed al-Sharaa sets the total number of Assembly members at 210. Its current makeup was formed after members were elected and the remaining third was appointed by presidential decree.
In August, the Assembly completed its organizational structure by forming its permanent committees, including the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, which Houshan chairs.
Under the previous Syrian constitutional framework, the allowances and compensation of People’s Assembly members were to be set by law, as stipulated in Article 68 of the 2012 constitution.
No official financial schedule issued by the People’s Assembly or the Ministry of Finance has appeared in the published, publicly available documents that definitively sets the amounts Houshan described, including the monthly grant, the session allowance and the housing allowance.
Officials’ Allowances vs. Syrians’ Burdens
The grant for People’s Assembly members cannot be compared directly with the income of all Syrians, given the differences in the nature of jobs, responsibilities and the mechanisms for setting wages. But the announcement that a member receives $1,500 a month drew criticism on social media and placed these allowances in a highly sensitive economic and social context, especially as officials continue to talk about limited resources and the need to rein in public spending.
Discussions on social media focused on how public resources are distributed at a time when the country is suffering an economic crisis, while Syrians face rising prices, declining purchasing power and growing pressure on living standards.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
