When the Assad regime collapsed on Dec. 8, 2024, Qaq returned to Syria in triumph, like so many of the regime’s detractors. Less than a year after that, he was back in Syrian politics. On Oct. 5, Syria held its first parliamentary elections since Ahmed al-Sharaa took power, and Qaq was nominated to be a delegate in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana.

DAMASCUS—In 1988, a Druze academic named Adham Masoud al-Qaq tried to run for Syria’s parliament, the People’s Assembly. Hafez al-Assad was dictator of Syria at the time and Qaq made the mistake of pushing for democratic reforms. He was arrested for his opposition to the regime—his third time that decade—and then imprisoned. Upon release, he fled to Egypt, where he lived in exile for 36 years.

DAMASCUS—In 1988, a Druze academic named Adham Masoud al-Qaq tried to run for Syria’s parliament, the People’s Assembly. Hafez al-Assad was dictator of Syria at the time and Qaq made the mistake of pushing for democratic reforms. He was arrested for his opposition to the regime—his third time that decade—and then imprisoned. Upon release, he fled to Egypt, where he lived in exile for 36 years.

When the Assad regime collapsed on Dec. 8, 2024, Qaq returned to Syria in triumph, like so many of the regime’s detractors. Less than a year after that, he was back in Syrian politics. On Oct. 5, Syria held its first parliamentary elections since Ahmed al-Sharaa took power, and Qaq was nominated to be a delegate in th