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Parliamentary speaker Mohamed al-Lahham on Tuesday said that four new candidates had submitted their applications to run for the Presidency in the upcoming elections next month, which President Bashar Assad is widely expected to win. The speaker announced the names of four new candidates, with a Christian and a woman among them, in a parliamentary session in Damascus.
With the four new candidates, the total number of people running for President in the elections on June 3 now stands at 11. The four new candidates are Ali Wanous, Talea Salah Nasser, Samih Mikhael Moussa and Azza Mohamed Al-Hallaq, who like most of the candidates, are relative unknowns. Azza Mohamed Al-Hallaq’s nomination now brings the total number of women running for President to two.
The Syrian constitution requires any candidate running for President to be a Muslim, but according to sources, Samih Mikhael Moussa is a Christian. In five days, when the candidacy period ends on May 5th, the parliamentary court will evaluate all the candidates to see if they meet the requirements, and that they will announce the eligible candidates on May 6th.
The elections, to be held on June 3rd, will be the first multi-candidate presidential elections in Syria, after an amendment to the constitution got rid of the previous referendum system. But with the brutal civil war in the country resulting in large parts of the country being under rebel control, it remains to be seen how organised the vote would be. Additionally, almost half of Syria’s population has been forced to abandon their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring countries.
Syria’s electoral commission on Monday said that the people who left the country “illegally” will not be allowed to cast their vote. The decision will most likely affect refugees who have crossed international borders through rebel-held posts or were smuggled out of the country.
