1932 Syrian presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2026}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name =
| country = Syria
| flag_year = 1932
| type = presidential
| ongoing =
| previous_election =
| previous_year =
| next_election = 1936 Syrian presidential election
| next_year = 1936
| election_date = {{Start date|1932|06|11|df=y}}
| image1 = Muhammad Ali al-Abid.jpg
| candidate1 = {{nowrap|[[Muhammad Ali Bey al-Abid|Muhammad Ali al-Abid]]}}
| party1 = Independent
| electoral_vote1 = ”’36”’ (2nd round)
| percentage1 = ”’52.9%”’
| image2 = Subhi barkat.jpg
| candidate2 = {{nowrap|[[Subhi Bey Barakat|Subhi Barakat]]}}
| party2 = Independent
| electoral_vote2 = 32 (2nd round)
| percentage2 = 47.1%
| title = [[President of Syria|President]]
| before_election = (office established)
| after_election = [[Muhammad Ali Bey al-Abid|Muhammad Ali al-Abid]]
| after_party = Independent
}}
The ”’1932 Syrian presidential election”’ was held on 11 June 1932, when the Syrian [[People’s Assembly of Syria|Chamber of Deputies]] elected [[Muhammad Ali Bey al-Abid|Muhammad Ali al-Abid]] as the first [[President of Syria|President]] of the [[First Syrian Republic|Syrian Republic]]. Under the [[Syrian Constitution of 1930|Constitution of 1930]], the president was to be chosen by parliament rather than by direct popular vote. The election took place several days after the chamber’s inaugural session on 7 June 1932, which had followed the [[1931–1932 Syrian parliamentary election]].<ref name=”source 1″>{{cite book |last1=Atassi |first1=Karim |title=Syria, the strength of an Idea: the constitutional architectures of its political regimes |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781316635018}}</ref>

== Background ==

The [[1931–1932 Syrian parliamentary election]] had returned 68 deputies, of whom 17 belonged to the [[National Bloc (Syria)|National Bloc]] under [[Hashim al-Atassi]]. As in the [[1928 Syrian Constituent Assembly election|1928 elections]], the nationalists did not command a majority in the chamber. Yet, as had also been the case in 1928, their influence proved considerable and exceeded what their numbers alone would suggest.<ref name=”source 1″/> They remained the driving force behind the legislative assembly.

== Candidates ==

Four candidates stood for the presidency:<ref name=”source 1″/>

* ”'[[Subhi Barakat]]”’: the newly elected [[Speaker of the People’s Assembly of Syria|speaker]]; former president of the [[Syrian Federation]] and the [[State of Syria]]; a prominent figure from [[Antakya|Antioch]] with openly pro-French sympathies.
* ”'[[Haqqi al-Azm]]”’: former president of the [[State of Damascus]] between 1920 and 1922; known for his pro-French stance.
* ”'[[Muhammad Ali al-Abid]]”’: scion of a wealthy Damascene family with close ties to Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]]; former ambassador of the Ottoman [[Sublime Porte]] to the United States in 1908; regarded as a moderate independent.
* ”'[[Hashim al-Atassi]]”’: former president of the [[Syrian National Congress]], Prime Minister under [[Faisal I|King Faisal]], and president of the [[Constituent Assembly (Syria, 1928–1929)|Constituent Assembly]] in 1928; the National Bloc’s preferred candidate.

== Conduct and result ==

The National Bloc did not have sufficient numbers in the chamber to guarantee the election of its own candidate, Hashim al-Atassi. After the first round of voting — in which Atassi received 17 votes — Atassi withdrew from the contest.<ref name=”source 1″/> The nationalists then threw their support behind Muhammad Ali al-Abid, the moderate independent candidate, with the express purpose of preventing either Haqqi al-Azm or Subhi Barakat — both openly pro-French — from acceding to the presidency.<ref name=”source 1″/>

Muhammad Ali al-Abid was elected first President of the Syrian Republic on 11 June 1932, receiving 36 votes against Barakat’s 32.<ref name=”source 1″/> He held office until 21 December 1936.

The election of Muhammad Ali al-Abid was seen as a further failure for High Commissioner [[Henri Ponsot]], compounding his earlier inability to secure the adoption of a constitution favourable to the mandatory authority in 1928.<ref name=”source 1″/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Presidents of Syria}}

[[Category:1932 elections in Asia]]
[[Category:Presidential elections in Syria]]
[[Category:French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon]]
[[Category:Indirect elections]]