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Syrian President Bashar Assad has officially registered to run for President in next month’s polls, which he is widely expected to win despite the widespread conflict in his nation. The poll will be the first multi-candidate presidential vote in Syria, after changes were made to its constitution to accommodate it. The poll has already been widely criticized by much of the international community and the opposition as a “farce”.
The government has not yet explained how it intends to hold the poll in the midst of the brutal civil war in the country, which has resulted in over 150,000 deaths and parts of the country no longer being in the regime’s control.
Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed al-Lahham addressed Assad’s candidacy by reading a letter from him at a parliamentary session, saying, “I, citizen Bashar Hafez Assad, wish to present my candidacy for the post of president of the republic”.
A post on the Presidency’s official Facebook page quotes Assad calling on citizens of the country to express themselves using the ballot box. “Those who wish to express their joy and support for any candidate for the presidency should do so in a responsible, patriotic way, first, and secondly, through the ballot box in a timely fashion. 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”, he said.
President Assad is expected to win the upcoming elections with ease. So far, six other candidates, including a woman, have announced their candidacy. All of them, except for one Member of Parliament, are largely unknown, and how they intend to run their campaigns against Assad remains to be seen. Electoral rules prevent people who’ve lived outside Syria for the last ten years from competing, thereby ruling the opposition-in-exile ineligible. With over half the Syrian population displaced, it is unclear on exactly how many Syrians will turn up to vote.