The Syrian cabinet has approved a law that allows the formation of political parties other than the ruling Baath party, provided they adhere to 'democratic principles'.
The Baath party has banned opposition groups since a 1963 military coup.
It has been under pressure to abandon its monopoly on power amid a four-month uprising that has called for the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad.
'The establishment of any party has to be based on ... a commitment to the constitution, democratic principles, the rule of law and a respect for freedom and basic rights,' the SANA agency said, referring to conditions to be met by parties that want to apply for a licence to operate legally.
According to SANA, the draft law adopted by the government bans the creation of parties based on ‘religion, tribal affiliation, regional interests’ as well as those that discriminate along racial lines or gender.
The draft law also stipulates that ‘party organs should not comprise any military or paramilitary elements, whether public or secret’ and that objectives and funding must be clearly established.
Prime Minister Adel Safar, who formed his government in April less than a month after the former premier quit in the face of anti-regime protests, in June named a committee tasked with drafting a law on political parties.
Also in April, President Assad signed a decree to lift almost five decades of draconian emergency rule and abolish feared state security courts.
But the efforts of Mr Assad, in power since replacing his father Hafez as president in 2000, failed to garner popular support and protests have rocked Syria for more than four months, calling on him to quit.
Security forces have pursued campaigns of arrests despite the lifting of the state of emergency.
The authorities have used deadly force to quell dissent, with at least 1,486 civilians reported killed since mid-March, human rights groups say.
The violence has also claimed the lives of 365 members of the security forces and driven thousands to flee to safety outside Syria, and at least 12,000 have been detained.
