1950 Syrian presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2026}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name =
| country = Syria
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = December 1949 Syrian presidential election
| previous_year = {{nowrap|1949 (Dec)}}
| next_election = 1953 Syrian presidential election
| next_year = 1953
| election_date = {{Start date|1950|09|05|df=y}}
| image1 = Hashim Al Atassi.jpg
| candidate1 = {{nowrap|”'[[Hashim al-Atassi]]”’}}
| party1 = [[People’s Party (Syria)|People’s Party]]
| electoral_vote1 = ”’92”’
| percentage1 = ”’91.1%”’
| title = [[President of Syria|President]]
| before_election = Hashim al-Atassi
| before_party = [[People’s Party (Syria)|People’s Party]]
| after_election = Hashim al-Atassi
| after_party = [[People’s Party (Syria)|People’s Party]]
}}
The ”’1950 Syrian presidential election”’ was held on 5 September 1950, when the newly constituted [[People’s Assembly of Syria|Chamber of Deputies]] — the former [[Constituent Assembly (Syria, 1949–1950)|Constituent Assembly]], which had declared itself a parliamentary chamber earlier that day — elected [[Hashim al-Atassi]] as President of the Syrian Republic with 92 votes.<ref name=”syrmh”>{{cite web |title=انتخاب هاشم الأتاسي رئيساً للجمهورية عام 1950م |url=https://syrmh.com/2025/09/05/انتخاب-هاشم-الأتاسي-رئيساً-للجمهورية-2/ |website=التاريخ السوري المعاصر |language=ar |date=5 September 2025}}</ref>

== Background ==
Following the [[August 1949 Syrian coup d’état|coup]] against [[Sami al-Hinnawi]], the [[Constituent Assembly (Syria, 1949–1950)|Constituent Assembly]] elected Hashim al-Atassi as provisional head of state in December 1949.<ref name=”syrmh”/>

On Monday, 4 September 1950, the Constituent Assembly opened its penultimate sitting at 5:30 pm, discussing several matters including the Assembly’s conversion into a parliamentary chamber, the vote on the new constitution, and the election of the President of the Republic.<ref name=”syrmh”/>

The Assembly’s final sitting was held the following day, Tuesday, 5 September 1950. The new [[Syrian Constitution of 1950|constitution]] was adopted, and the Assembly declared its own work concluded, dissolving itself as a constituent body and reconstituting itself as a new Chamber of Deputies for a four-year term.<ref name=”syrmh”/><ref name=”syria.tv”>{{cite web |title=بداية الحلم الدستوري الوطني.. الجمعية التأسيسية السورية (1949 – 1950) |url=https://www.syria.tv/بداية-الحلم-الدستوري-الوطني-الجمعية-التأسيسية-السورية-1949-–-1950 |website=تلفزيون سوريا |language=ar}}</ref> The newly formed Chamber then convened a special evening sitting to elect the new President of the Republic.<ref name=”syrmh”/><ref name=”syria.tv”/>

== Voting ==
The special sitting opened with a roll call of absent members, after which the Speaker of the Chamber announced that the sitting was dedicated to electing the President of the Republic and that members would vote by secret ballot.<ref name=”syrmh”/> [[Abd al-Baqi Nizam al-Din]], [[Muhammad al-Mubarak]], and [[Raif al-Malqi]] were asked to assist the overseers in overseeing the vote.<ref name=”syrmh”/> Following brief remarks, voting began, with overseers carrying the ballot boxes to members before collecting and counting the ballots.<ref name=”syrmh”/>

== Results ==
Of 101 members who cast ballots, Hashim al-Atassi received 92 votes. [[Rushdi al-Kikhya]] and [[Mustafa al-Siba’i]] each received one vote, and seven ballots were left blank.<ref name=”syrmh”/>
{{Election results
|party1=”'[[People’s Party (Syria)|People’s Party]]”’
|cand1=”'[[Hashim al-Atassi]]”’
|votes1=92

|party2=[[People’s Party (Syria)|People’s Party]]
|cand2=[[Rushdi al-Kikhya]]
|votes2=1

|party3=[[Muslim Brotherhood of Syria|Muslim Brotherhood]]
|cand3=[[Mustafa al-Siba’i]]
|votes3=1

|invalid=7
|electorate=114
}}

== Aftermath ==
The Speaker of the Chamber announced the result to applause from members and stated that he would proceed, with the members of the Chamber’s Bureau, to inform President-elect al-Atassi personally.<ref name=”syrmh”/> The sitting was suspended for half an hour while the Speaker, [[Rushdi al-Kikhya]], and the Bureau travelled to the presidential palace to convey the result.<ref name=”syrmh”/>

President al-Atassi subsequently travelled in procession from the palace to the Chamber, preceded by the Republican Guard on motorcycles. He was received with official honours on arrival, with the gendarmerie band playing the Syrian national anthem, and was welcomed at the entrance by the Prime Minister, ministers, and a number of deputies. He addressed the Chamber before returning to the presidential palace in procession.<ref name=”syrmh”/> A 21-gun salute was fired in celebration of the election, and government buildings and official institutions were illuminated for the occasion.<ref name=”syrmh”/>

That evening, [[Nazim al-Qudsi]], the outgoing Prime Minister, went to the presidential palace and submitted his government’s resignation to President al-Atassi.<ref name=”syrmh”/>

== See also ==
* [[Constituent Assembly (Syria, 1949–1950)]]
* [[5th Chamber of Deputies of Syria]]
* [[Syrian Constitution of 1950]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Presidents of Syria}}

[[Category:1950 elections in Asia]]
[[Category:Presidential elections in Syria]]
[[Category:Indirect elections]]