Final results from Syria's two-day general election showed more female and young candidates in the new 250-member parliament, the interior minister announced Wednesday night.

Ali Hammoud said that four more women won seats, raising the total number of women in the parliament to 30. Additionally, 125 candidates below the age of 50 and 172 holders with advanced degrees joined the body.

He noted that 72 parliamentarians retained their seats while there were 178 newcomers.

Hammoud said the turnout reached 63 percent, which "reflects a high participation" in the elections ended Monday, while 1,400 out of a total 10,000 starting candidates maintained their candidacy to the end of the race.

He estimated more than 8 million potential voters, including those living abroad. Hammoud noted, however, that an estimated 2 million eligible voters, including members of the police and army forces as well as those serving a jail sentence, are barred by law from voting.

He said the new parliament will be concerned in "translating" efforts for moving modern Syria ahead, supervising the executive authority, improving living conditions and making the necessary new laws.

Asked if the new parliament will focus on political and not only economic modernization, he said "modernization should cover all aspects of life" in Syria.

He denied plans to change the election law as requested by the opposition, saying, "it is a modern and good one" but "when we see it's necessary, we will change it."

On vote-buying, Hammoud admitted such attempts by some "candidate agents who tried to secure illegal votes," but said they were seized before becoming a forgery.

He referred the delay in announcing the final results to "a retard in getting results of some provinces" and denied any complaint.

Among the winners were prominent businessmen who won seven out of 11 independent seats. Three of the winning businessmen were newcomers who spent huge amounts of money on their campaigns.

Two moderate Muslims, Muhammad Habash and Ghassan Nahhas, won two independent seats.

The unlicensed Syrian Social National Party won four seats, with two candidates who ran on the list of the ruling Baath-led National Progressive Front and two others – Joseph Sweid and Bassil Dahdouh - who ran as independent candidates. It was the first time that the SSNP secured four seats in parliament.

Dahdouh, who represented the SSNP in parliament for the past 12 years, broke away after he was dismissed from the party because he failed to respect the group's resolutions.

The SSNP was banned in 1955 after it was accused of assassinating Brig. Adnan Malki but unofficially reconciled with the Syrian authorities because of its role in fighting Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon.

Only three women who ran as independents won seats, while 27 others secured victory by running on the Front's list.

All 167 candidates of the Front, which includes the Baath Party and seven other political groups, won. Some 135 seats go to the Baath Party while the 32 others are reserved for the front's remaining national and leftist parties.

The independent candidates won 83 seats.

The Front's winners included Ambassador Suleiman Haddad and Abdel Kader Qaddoura, who has been house speaker for 15 years.