Rebel government, premier to be based in Syria, not in exile: Source

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

A general view of protesters holding a Syrian opposition flag during a demonstration. REUTERS Photo

The interim government and prime minister of the Syrian opposition, who is expected to be elected by the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) in Istanbul, will be based in Syria and stay there, a SNC press official told Hürriyet Daily News today ahead of a two-day election.

Syria’s opposition opened a meeting in Istanbul to choose a rebel prime minister to head an interim government for large swathes of territory freed from regime control. Coalition members have warned there is no guarantee the group will reach a consensus at this meeting. Several previous attempts at setting up an interim government have been postponed.

Economist Osama Kadi, businessman Ghassan Hitto and former Agriculture Minister Asaad Mustapha are among the 12 candidates for the prime ministerial post. Names of two of the candidates have not been released due to security reasons as they are currently based in Syria.