After preparations for over a month, voting has begun in the Northern Syria. The decision for federal elections to take place in towns, districts and cantons, was given a green-light by the Independent High Electoral Commision, reports ANHA news.

The election, which will cover the city and provincial councils, is part of a process leading to the creation of a local parliament by early 2018.

At the first phase of elections, people picked representatives from some 3,700 communes. It was the first such process since the announcement of the federal democratic region, despite objections from the Syrian regime and Russia, and the United States.

The second phase of elections began at 8:00 am local time in Afrin, Euphrates, and Jazira. Jazira alone is comprised of 6 cantons, which include al-Hasakah, Qamishlo, Kobani, Gire Sipi, Tel-Abyed, and al-Shabah. In Qamishlo, 199 centres were set up for votes on local administration. The elections, which is being protected by Asayish (local security) forces that have blocked trucks, lorries and motorbikes from traffic, are set to end at 20:00. Most Markets, centres, and institutions were closed on Friday morning across al-Jazeera, Afrin and Euphrates. Bakeries, pharmacies, and hospitals, however, were left open.

Participation for the election is estimated to be around 800 thousand people. That is, almost 100 thousand people more than the first phase of elections in which participation was at 70%. According to the local media, thousands of people including Kurds, Arabs, Yazidis, Assyrians from different areas of the region headed to the polls.

Sixty percent of representatives in the regional elections will be elected directly by voters, while 40 percent of the ruling council's seats will be reserved for minorities via a quota system. On top of that, half of the seats have to be held by women according to election quota rules.



Multiple delegations have been sent to observe the electoral process across the different regions. In al-Hasakah for instance, HDP parliamentarian of the Wan state, accompanied the Electoral High Commission of al-Hasakah to observe the democratic process. In Qamishlo, a delegation including one from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq has also visited multiple electoral centres.



Simultaneous to the day of the elections, the executive branch of the Democratic Northern Syria Federation has also been drawing a roadmap for the rest of Syria.



Fawza Yousef, a co-chair of the executive body, issued a statement on Friday. "We congratulate on this historic day our people in Northern Syria, the 2nd phase of the elections has a considerable significance for our people where; simultaneously, meetings are also being held to find a solution for the Syrian crisis."



Abdu Hussen Khalil, an Arab representative of the Popni clan, believes that Turkey's hints at invading Afrin are in response to the Federal electoral process taking place in Northern Syria. "I appeal to all people to go to the ballot boxes" he told ANHA Hewar News, "vote to reach a democratic nation in North Syria."