Draft:Assyrian Parliament

The modern effort to create a unified Assyrian national leadership has taken several forms since the mid-20th century. One of the earliest and most important organizations was the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA), founded on April 13, 1968, in Pau, France. AUA was established as a worldwide Assyrian representative body and leadership council, with the goal of strengthening the Assyrian national voice, defending Assyrian rights in the homeland and diaspora, and promoting Assyrian unity.

AUA’s congresses brought together representatives of Assyrian federations, organizations, and political parties from different countries. Its leadership model was based on representation through member organizations and community institutions rather than direct global popular elections. Through its congresses and international activities, AUA helped keep alive the idea of a unified Assyrian national voice and a coordinated global leadership structure.

In the 1970s, Ivan Kakovitch advanced another major proposal for Assyrian national organization. His Assyrian Manifesto, originally published in Washington, D.C., on December 15, 1974, called for a more structured Assyrian political framework and the development of self-rule institutions. In the late 1970s, Kakovitch promoted the idea of the International Confederation of Assyrian Nation (ICAN) as a framework for an Assyrian interim national leadership. Although the effort was influential, it remained limited and was reportedly short-lived due to lack of financial and organizational support.

In the 1980s, other Assyrian activists and community leaders continued to discuss national conferences, unity, and representative structures. These efforts included conference and unity initiatives associated with Ishaya Isho and others. The exact dates and formal titles of these efforts should be verified with stronger primary sources before being used in a formal historical publication, but they are part of the broader history of Assyrian attempts to develop national coordination and representation.

A later European development was the Assyrian Confederation of Europe (ACE), formally established on April 22, 2016, in Brussels, Belgium. ACE was created as a European umbrella organization for Assyrian federations and organizations, with the purpose of strengthening Assyrian identity and culture in Europe, representing Assyrians in European political and media spaces, and supporting democratic and equal-rights efforts in the Assyrian homeland. Like earlier umbrella organizations, ACE represented Assyrian communities through federations and organizations rather than through a direct worldwide election.

Early discussions about creating a global Assyrian representative institution began around 2014–2015 among Assyrian activists. In 2015, an initial meeting was held in Burbank, California, where participants discussed preliminary concepts, including structure, bylaws, representation, and election mechanisms.

Parallel initiatives in Europe and the Middle East later led to collaboration and an effort to consolidate similar projects. In 2017, a meeting in Wiesbaden, Germany, brought together groups working toward a comparable goal. This cooperation resulted in the formation of a joint framework that adopted the name United Council for the Assyrian Parliament, or UCAP.

In September 2019, a larger conference was held in Yerevan, Armenia, under a preparatory framework aimed at defining objectives, governance concepts, and a roadmap toward establishing a representative body. A follow-up meeting in Germany in February 2020 sought to expand participation to Assyrian federations and organizations. However, differing views on governance, participation, and election procedures led to the emergence of separate working groups. One of these groups later used the name Preparatory Committee for the Assyrian Parliament.

From 2020 to 2024, activities continued primarily online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, participants continued discussions about structure, bylaws, election rules, voter registration, candidate qualifications, and the relationship between in-person and online participation.

The Preparatory Committee worked toward holding an in-person conference and elections in Yerevan, Armenia, in April 2025, while also allowing online participation and voting through Zoom. However, disagreements emerged around March 2025, resulting in a final split among members of the preparatory effort. A smaller group continued with the plan to hold both an in-person and online conference with elections, while a larger group held an in-person conference focused on national discussions and related Assyrian issues.

The effort moved into a new stage in 2025. The Assyrian World Conference in Yerevan, Armenia, held April 25–27, 2025, elected members of the Assyrian International Council (AIC). As a result, 16 individuals were selected to form an initial interim body under the name Assyrian International Council.

The 16 members elected in Armenia were:

1. Rochelle Yousefian — Florida, United States 2. Odisho Boudugh — Alqosh, Assyria 3. Sargon Daniel Dadisho — Sydney, Australia 4. Sargon Thomas — Melbourne, Australia 5. Rhonda Babanour — Sydney, Australia 6. Timofey Ivanov — Arzni, Armenia 7. Inessa Tumasova — Krasnodar, Russia 8. Alina Sargiss — California, United States 9. Dina Ionanova — Moscow, Russia 10. Robert Babaiev — Ukraine 11. Lewis Barkho — The Hague, Netherlands 12. Yakob Oraha — Denmark 13. Matthias Becer — Uhingen, Germany 14. Ashuriena Abraham — California, United States 15. Karmella Borashan — San Jose, California 16. Yosh Gahramani — United States

Later in 2025, additional efforts were made to expand and unify participation through a second election process. This led to the Founding Conference of the Assyrian Parliament in Gothenburg, Sweden, held in September 2025, with both in-person and online participation.

The initiative envisions a representative system based on global Assyrian participation, with a long-term goal of expanding toward a larger parliamentary body representing Assyrian communities in the homeland and diaspora. The proposed long-term structure has often been discussed as approximately 150 members, with representation based on Assyrian population distribution, community participation, and future election rules.

The organization’s objectives include promoting Assyrian identity, coordinating global advocacy efforts, defending Assyrian rights, supporting cultural and linguistic preservation, and developing a unified institutional framework through periodic conferences, elections, bylaws, and accountable leadership.

The Founding Conference of the Assyrian Parliament was held in Gothenburg, Sweden, in September 2025. Assyrian voters and candidates registered before the election and went through a verification process. Verified voters were given voting information, while verified candidates received information about participation and campaign promotion.

Because this was the first Assyrian Parliament election, the organizers did not open all projected seats at once. If all available seats had been opened, the number of candidates may have been equal to or lower than the number of seats, meaning there would have been little or no competition. For that reason, only a limited portion of the projected seats was opened during this first round.

The official Assyrian Parliament website states that The Assyrian Parliament was established on September 21, 2025.^[1] It lists 874 total votes, 16 newly elected members, and 10 already elected AIC members, making 26 listed members in total.

The existing AIC members who wished to join the Assyrian Parliament were accepted without needing to run again in the Sweden election. This allowed the Parliament to combine members elected through the earlier Yerevan process with newly elected members from the September 2025 process in Sweden.

The 26 listed members of the Assyrian Parliament were:

1. Albert Pourtarverdi — USA 2. Anwia Sadeq — Australia 3. Ashuriena Abraham — USA — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 4. Aydin Aslan — Belgium 5. Brilla Brakhya — Lebanon 6. Dilan Adamat — Assyria 7. Dina Ionanova — Russia — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 8. Dr. Inessa Tumasova — Russia — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 9. Dr. Samir D. Johna — USA 10. Hanibal Youssef — Germany 11. Hermiz Shahen — Australia 12. Jacob Bardaisan — Germany 13. Karmella Borashan — USA — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 14. Nihal Nissan — Sweden 15. Rhonda Babanour — Australia — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 16. Robert Babaiev — Ukraine — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 17. Sam Alkhass — USA 18. Sargon Daniel Dadisho — Australia — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 19. Sayros Yadgar — USA 20. Timofey Ivanov — Armenia — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 21. William Warda — Assyria 22. Yacob Kanho — Netherlands 23. Yakob Oraha — Denmark — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 24. Yosh Ghahramani — USA — Already elected in Yerevan Conference / AIC member 25. Yousif Bet Yousif — Sweden 26. Zaid Hazm Kathawa — Assyria

At the end of the September 21, 2025 election process in Sweden, four independent members were also elected to serve on the Oversight Committee. Under the bylaws, the purpose of the Oversight Committee is to help monitor the activities of the Assyrian Parliament, promote accountability, review possible misuse of funds or resources, and address potential violations of the bylaws.

The four elected Oversight Committee members were:

1. Ninos Manasha 2. Yalda Marqus 3. Zaya Zuher 4. Ashaea Daniel

The election of the Oversight Committee was intended to create an internal accountability mechanism separate from the elected parliamentary body. Its role was to help ensure that the Parliament’s leadership and members act in accordance with the bylaws, protect organizational resources, and maintain public trust in the institution.

The Assyrian Parliament will be registered as the representative of the Assyrians of the world in UN and other international communities. The humanitarian activities are carried by the Assyrian International Council in the United States.