Syria’s interim president on Thursday signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase.

By bnm Gulf bureau Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a draft constitutional declaration, making him president of Syria for a five-year transitional period, state media reported on March 13. The committee tasked with drafting the constitutional declaration has granted the new Syrian president the authority to declare a state of emergency,

Syria’s interim president signed a temporary constitution on Thursday that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase. The nation’s interim rulers have struggled to exert their authority across much of Syria since the Islamist former insurgent group,

The document enshrines separation of powers and guarantees women's rights, freedom of expression and media freedom.

Syria kept a central role for Islamic law in a constitutional declaration issued on Thursday which guarantees women's rights and freedom of expression during a five-year transitional period, according to a summary read on TV.

Religious and ethnic minorities, as well as the US and Europe, are wary about freedom of expression protections