Last October, local committees appointed by Syria's electoral commission, which itself was appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, held ballots to select two-thirds of a 210-member transitional assembly, in line with a temporary constitution that does not include direct elections.

Then Kurdish-held areas of the northeast and Druze-majority Sweida province in the south were excluded due to tensions with Damascus.

At a press conference in the northeastern city of Qamishli, representatives of 21 Kurdish parties and political movements including the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Syria's most powerful Kurdish party, decried a "top-down appointment" process.

"What took place revealed once again an approach of exclusion and marginalisation through the selective appointment of a number of figures," they said.

"In the face of the results and the appointment mechanism which took place, we affirm that the (selected) individuals represent themselves alone."

Building a democratic Syria requires "an inclusive national political process that guarantees fair representation and the free will of all Syrians", they added.

Before the ballot, the parties and forces said the mechanism "does not establish a real democratic political process".

Nine representatives were selected on Sunday in Hasakeh province -- including two by proclamation-- as well as two in the area of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, in Aleppo province.

The ballot came after Damascus and the Kurds, who during Syria's civil war carved out a semi-autonomous administration covering swathes of the country's northeast, agreed in January to integrate Kurdish civilian and military institutions into the state.

No selection process has been held in Sweida province due to ongoing tensions with Damascus following sectarian violence in the province in July last year, which an official investigative committee said left 1,760 people dead.

Commenting on the ballot process this month, local Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri, who is hostile to Damascus and under whose authority armed factions in Sweida operate, reiterated demands for an autonomous administration in Sweida.

"We are the ones who best know how to manage our affairs and administer our region," he said.

Sharaa is to appoint the remaining third of the members of the assembly.

Critics have called the process undemocratic.