1936 Syrian parliamentary 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 = parliamentary
| previous_election = 1931–1932 Syrian parliamentary election
| previous_year = 1931–32
| outgoing_members = List of members of the Chamber of Deputies (Syria), 1932–1933
| next_election = 1943 Syrian parliamentary election
| next_year = 1943
| elected_members = List of members of the Chamber of Deputies (Syria), 1936–1939
| election_date = 14 and 30 November 1936
| seats_for_election = All 85 seats in the [[People’s Assembly of Syria|Chamber of Deputies]]
| majority_seats = 43
| image1 = Hashim Al Atassi.jpg
| leader1 = [[Hashim al-Atassi]]
| party1 = National Bloc (Syria)
| seats1 =
| seat_change1 =
| title = [[Prime Minister of Syria|Prime Minister]]
| before_election = [[Ata Bey al-Ayyubi]]
| before_party = Independent
| after_election = [[Jamil Mardam Bey]]
| after_party = National Bloc (Syria)
}}
The ”’1936 Syrian parliamentary election”’ was held in two stages on 14 and 30 November 1936 under the [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French Mandate]], resulting in a landslide victory for the [[National Bloc (Syria)|National Bloc]]. The elections were held in accordance with the agreement between [[Hashim al-Atassi]] and High Commissioner [[Damien de Martel]] that had brought the [[1936 Syrian general strike|general strike of 1936]] to an end, under which the [[Syrian Constitution of 1930|Constitution of 1930]] was restored and parliamentary elections were organised.<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=978-1-316-87201-7}}</ref> The outcome marked the first time a national Arab government came to power in Damascus through the ballot box, eighteen years after [[Faisal I]] had established the first Arab government in the city following the separation of the Arab provinces from the [[Ottoman Empire]], and sixteen years after the fall of the [[Arab Kingdom of Syria]] and the imposition of the Mandate following the [[Battle of Maysalun]].

== Background ==

The 1936 elections were the direct consequence of several overlapping developments: the general strike of 1936, the negotiation of the [[Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence]], and the restoration of the 1930 constitution.

The delegation that had negotiated the Franco-Syrian Treaty returned from Paris to scenes of popular jubilation in both Aleppo and Damascus, where celebrations in the capital lasted four days.<ref name=”source 1″ /> Acting on the Atassi–de Martel agreement that had ended the general strike, the 1930 constitution was restored and legislative elections were called.

President [[Mohammad Ali al-Abid]], recognising that Syria was entering a new era, submitted his resignation to parliament on 21 December 1936, six months before the expiry of his term of office.

== Electoral system ==
{{main|Electoral system of Syria#1928}}
The elections were conducted according to the two-stage voting system established in 1928, with the first stage on 14 November and the second on 30 November 1936.

== Results ==

National Bloc candidates won an overwhelming majority of seats.<ref name=”source 1″ /> In the first session of the new parliament, deputies elected [[Fares al-Khoury]] as [[Speaker of the People’s Assembly of Syria|President of the Chamber]].

Following President al-Abid’s resignation, the chamber proceeded to elect a new president. The parliament elected [[Hashim al-Atassi]] in the first round of voting, with 74 votes out of 82.

Upon assuming office, Atassi appointed [[Jamil Mardam Bey]] as Prime Minister. Within a few days, Mardam formed a cabinet of four ministers, which for the first time included a Ministry of Defence and a Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<ref name=”source 1″ /> All four ministerial portfolios were placed in the hands of National Bloc members — two from Damascus and two from Aleppo. The first act of the new government was to sign the Franco-Syrian Treaty and refer it to parliament for ratification.<ref name=”source 1″ />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Syrian elections}}
{{People’s Assembly (Syria)}}

[[Category:Elections in Syria]]
[[Category:1936 elections in Asia]]
[[Category:1936 in Mandatory Syria]]
[[Category:Parliamentary elections in Syria]]