1932 Syrian presidential election

none September 2026 September 2026 September 2026 Syria 1932 presidential 1936 Syrian presidential election 1936 1932 06 11 y Muhammad Ali al-Abid.jpg Muhammad Ali al-Abid Independent 36 (2nd round) 52.9% Subhi barkat.jpg Subhi Barakat Independent 32 (2nd round) 47.1% President (office established) Muhammad Ali al-Abid Independent The 1932 Syrian presidential election was held on 11 June 1932, when the Syrian Chamber of Deputies elected Muhammad Ali al-Abid as the first President of the Syrian Republic. Under the 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.Atassi Karim Syria, the strength of an Idea: the constitutional architectures of its political regimes 2018 Cambridge University Press Cambridge 9781316635018 Background The 1931–1932 Syrian parliamentary election had returned 68 deputies, of whom 17 belonged to the National Bloc under Hashim al-Atassi. As in the 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. They remained the driving force behind the legislative assembly. Candidates Four candidates stood for the presidency: Subhi Barakat: the newly elected speaker; former president of the Syrian Federation and the State of Syria; a prominent figure from 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 King Faisal, and president of the 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. 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. Muhammad Ali al-Abid was elected first President of the Syrian Republic on 11 June 1932, receiving 36 votes against Barakat's 32. 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. References Category:1932 elections in Asia Category:Presidential elections in Syria Category:French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Category:Indirect elections