DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has registered to run in next month’s presidential vote, which is expected to return him to power despite the grinding conflict, the parliament speaker announced yesterday.
The election will be Syria’s first multi-candidate presidential vote, after changes to the constitution. The government has not explained how it will hold a vote in a country gripped by a brutal war that has killed more than 150,000 people and with large swathes of territory beyond regime control.
Speaking at a session of parliament, Speaker Mohamed Al Lahham read a letter from Assad. “I, citizen Bashar Hafez al-Assad, wish to present my candidacy for the post of president of the republic,” the document said.
A posting on the presidency’s official Facebook page quoted Assad as calling on supporters of different candidates to express themselves through the ballot box. “I call on all Syrian citizens to refrain from firing in the air in joy, whatever the occasion might be, especially as Syria will be having its first election in modern history.”
Assad is expected to sail to victory against the six other candidates who have so far announced their runs, one of them a woman. They are all largely unknown, except for one member of parliament, and it remains unclear how they will angle their campaigns against Assad.
Syria’s parliament has 250 members, 160 of who belong to the ruling Baath party. Candidates must receive the support of 35 MPs to make their run official. Electoral rules prevent those who have lived outside Syria for the past decade from competing, effectively ruling out participation by the opposition-in-exile.
With nearly half the population displaced, inside and outside the country, it is unclear how many Syrians will be able to vote. The head of the electoral commission also said that Syrians who left the country “illegally” would not be allowed to vote.
The main opposition National Coalition has criticised the elections as a “farce”, while the US embassy in Syria — closed since 2012 in protest over the regime’s violations — said on Twitter: “Staged elections since the 70s - an Assad family legacy.”
AFP
