ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Syria’s electoral committee said on Saturday that recent unrest in Hasaka province in the country’s northeast (Rojava) would not disrupt the scheduled parliamentary elections, according to state media.

Protests erupted earlier this week in the city of Hasaka over the removal of Kurdish language signage from the Justice Palace.

On Thursday, locals demonstrated and tore down a newly-installed Arabic and English sign that had replaced a previous Kurdish-language sign.

Nawar Najmeh, spokesperson for the Higher Committee for People's Assembly Elections, told the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that the disturbances were “a passing event that will not affect the electoral process in the province.”

Najmeh said election preparations in Hasaka are proceeding “positively,” adding that successful polls would support “political, administrative, and security integration and implementation of the January 29 agreement.”

He said authorities had issued a decision two days ago to form subcommittees and appeal committees in Hasaka’s districts as well as in  Aleppo province’s Kobane.

Protesters again removed the replacement sign on Saturday, marking the second such incident this week, as demonstrators demanded that the Kurdish language be represented on public institutions.

Also on Thursday, members of Syria’s Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, headed by Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad, met with several newly-elected parliament members in Damascus to discuss the latest developments related to convening the assembly.

According to the council’s Telegram channel, the meeting addressed the completion of the elections, challenges facing government work, and legislation needed to resolve those issues, while stressing coordination between the legislative, executive, and judicial authorities.

Participants also discussed drafting the parliament’s bylaws and Syria’s participation in the Inter-Parliamentary Union, describing it as having a positive impact.