Holding elections in Syria could take up to four years, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said in remarks broadcast on Sunday, the first time he has commented on a possible electoral timetable since Bashar Assad was ousted this month.
Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, al-Sharaa said in an interview with the Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya. He also said it would take about a year for Syrians to see drastic changes.
The comment from al-Sharaa, who leads the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that ousted Assad on Dec. 8, comes as the new government in Damascus has been seeking to reassure its neighbors that it has moved away from its roots in Islamist militancy.
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