(AFP Photo)
The Syrian National Coalition announced on Tuesday the election of Ghassan Hitto following a controversial vote in Istanbul.
Haitham Al-Maleh, member of the coalition and head of its legal committee, confirmed Hitto’s appointment as the Prime Minister of the Interim Government of Syria. “Hitto will negotiate with the Syrian people to build a council of ministers to start a government in the free zones of Syria,” Al-Maleh said.
Al-Maleh also confirmed that some members have frozen their membership of the coalition. “A few in the coalition did not agree with the choice, some believe it is too early to form a government and others do not think that Hitto is the right man for the job,” he said.
Amongst those who have frozen their membership is coalition vice-president Suheir Atassi. She announced her decision on Tuesday on her Facebook page: “Because I am a Syrian citizen, I refuse to be a follower and an accessory. I announce I am freezing my membership to the coalition.”
Atassi clarified her decision in a separate post, asserting that she did not believe that any member of the coalition should be part of the interim government. “I had been asked to resign in order to be [part] of the government and I refused,” she said.
Walid Al-Bunni, the spokesperson for the coalition, also froze his membership, along with Kamal Labwani, Marwan Hajj Rifai, Yehia Al-Kurdi and Ahmad Al-Assi Jarba, according to AFP.
“The key issue is the timing and the way in which the vote took place,” Al-Bunni told AFP. He also pointed out that the coalition is not an elected entity. AFP reported that sources say that more are expected to freeze their membership.
The formation of a government “will take a long time,” Al-Maleh said. “We are in a revolution; it is not a normal situation. We do not have large numbers on the ground so it will take time.”
The vote took place in Istanbul on Tuesday and following hours of consultations 35 of the 50 who attended voted Hitto as leader of the interim government. AFP reported that some members walked out before the vote.
