The Baath party, in power in Syria, and its allies won the majority of seats in Sunday’s legislative elections in Syria, which were marked by a low turnout, the electoral commission announced Tuesday (July 21). The United States and the Syrian opposition denounced the holding of these elections, since the country has been at war since 2011, and the majority of opponents live in exile or in areas beyond the control of Damascus.
Affiliated with the Assad clan, the Baath and allied parties won 177 seats out of 250 in the National Assembly. The turnout was 33.17%, announced the director of the electoral commission, Samer Zemriq, during a press conference in Damascus, against 57.56% during the legislative elections of 2016. Among the winners The ballot includes businessman Hussam Katerji, targeted by European Union sanctions.
The millions of Syrians abroad, the majority of them refugees, were denied the right to vote. “Millions of Syrian voters voted with their feet taking the path of exile and forced displacement caused by the terrorism of Assad and his godfathers Russia and Iran”, quipped the Syrian National Coalition, the main body of the opposition in exile.
“Syria has not known free and fair elections since Assad’s Baath party came to power” half a century ago, “And this year’s elections are no exception”, added the spokeswoman for American diplomacy, Morgan Ortagus, in a statement.
Presidential election in 2021
It was the third parliamentary election since 2011, when the conflict erupted, killing more than 380,000 people and causing the exodus of millions of people. Syria is also in the midst of an economic slump. For several months, the economy has been in free fall, with a historic depreciation of the currency. More than 80% of the population lives in poverty, according to the UN.
Many candidates have centered their campaign on the promise of fighting inflation and rebuilding war-torn infrastructure. These legislative acts intervene, moreover, after the reconquest in recent years of the majority of the rebel strongholds by the army of Bashar Al-Assad, supported by Russia and Iran, which consolidated its hold on more than 70% of the territory. national.
For the first time, the ballot took place in former strongholds of the anti-Assad rebellion. It takes place one year before the presidential election scheduled for 2021. To stand for this election, candidates must obtain the sponsorship of at least thirty-five parliamentarians. The current leader, Bashar Al-Assad, has been in power for twenty years. He succeeded three decades of unchallenged rule by his father Hafez.
