Reforms in Syria: Baath party national congress furnishes for the regional congress in June

Well informed sources in Damascus said that the 10th Regional Congress of the Baath Arab Socialist party in Syria will be held by the beginning of June and will be preceded by a national ( pan Arab) congress for the party which will be the first in 22 years.

The sources said that that congress was set for the beginning of June this year, in a way that Baath party elections will start within the few coming weeks. These elections will lead to electing the representatives of the Baath party branches (almost one and a half million Baathists) in the congress. The congress will ended with the election of a central committee for the party which will elect a regional leadership. The source was talking about an extraordinary meeting for the Baath party regional (at the Syrian level) leadership to be followed today, Tuesday, and tomorrow to approve preparations for the two coming congresses.

The Syrians show interests in this congress, which the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad promised during his speech before the parliament in February to witness "a turning point." Experts expect a great change in the Baath party's regional leadership. Discussions will be on approving the political parties law to be followed by amending the publishing law.

Concerning the structure of the Baath pan-Arab organization, the sources said that a national conference will precede the regional congress in May and will result in introducing "amendments and reforms," the source refused to mention. However, reports indicate the possibility of dismantling the Baath party national leadership ( at the pan Arab level) and converting it into a national council included with the structure of the party's local composition, according to what had been debated earlier by Baathists reformers including the current Syrian minister of information Mahdi Dakhlallah.