The previous parliamentary election was held on 13 April 2016, although its results were not recognized by the United Nations. On 3 March 2020, President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree setting the date of the election to 13 April 2020. The decree stipulated that 127 of the 250 members of the People's Council were to be workers and farmers, while 123 were to be from other segments of the population. All were to be elected from 15 multi-member constituencies. The announcement came amid a government offensive on Idlib Governorate, the last province mainly controlled by the Syrian opposition. The opposition Syrian National Coalition called the election a "theatrical election by the Assad regime" with millions uprooted or in exile.