Arab Socialist Union (Syria) - ASU and DASU Today

ASU and DASU Today

The Arab Socialist Union Party of Syria (i.e., the ex-Kiyali faction), which glorifies the Baath presidency and shows virtually no independence from the government, has long been led by Safwan al-Qudsi. In the 2003 legislative elections, the NPF bloc was awarded 167 out of 250 seats in the Syrian parliament, and of these seven belonged to the ASU. In the 2007 elections, the party was awarded 8 out of 250 seats in the parliament, making it formally the second-largest party after the Baath itself. This does not reflect popular support for the party, however, since the NPF runs on uncontested lists; on these, the Baath always holds a majority both inside the NPF and inside the parliament, while other member parties negotiate with the government for their share of candidates.

Since the death of al-Atassi, the DASU has been led by Hassan Abdelazim. It remains an illegal party and has been subject to sporadic repression; although it became semi-openly active after the accession of Bashar al-Assad to power in 2000, and under the limited liberalization that followed. The DASU is the leading member of the National Democratic Gathering, a nationalist-leftist opposition alliance founded in 1979.