AMMAN, May 24: The main Syrian National Council opposition group said it had accepted the resignation of its president, setting the stage for a showdown between the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its political rivals over who will be the new leader.
The internal conflicts have come to a head over the position held by Burhan Ghalioun, a secular sociologist backed by the Brotherhood, who offered to step down as leader of the 313-member council last week if a replacement could be found.
Squabbling in the council has undermined international support for the opposition, as a military crackdown against
The 14-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, now coupled with an armed insurgency against his rule, shows no signs of relenting.
A new leader could be key to winning international recognition for the council and allaying Western concerns about the rise of Islamists as the main force in the 14-month popular uprising. The Islamists already dominate the council but are divided between the Muslim Brotherhood and other factions.
A statement by the council issued late on Wednesday said Ghalioun would remain head “until a new president is elected at the meeting of the general secretariat,” adding that the
council’s general assembly would later meet as part of efforts to reorganise the council.
The council’s executive bureau decided at a meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday to convene the 50-member general secretariat in the Turkish capital on June 11 and 12 to elect a replacement for Ghalioun, the statement added.
The 12-member bureau, the top decision-making body of the council, rejected Ghalioun’s proposal that the whole council should meet to agree on an alternative, members of the council, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday.
“Ghalioun’s chances of remaining president after June 12 have now diminished. It would have been almost impossible to find a consensus candidate other than him if the whole council convened,” a Ghalioun supporter on the general secretariat said.
(agencies)
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