“Staging”election “Neither free nor fair” : Westerners have already rejected the ballot, the second of its kind since the start, in 2011, of a war that left more than 388,000 dead and drove millions of Syrians into exile. A vote without surprise in a country devastated and mired in an economic crisis, Syria is holding a presidential election on Wednesday, May 26, which must offer a fourth term to the president, Bashar Al-Assad.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local (6 a.m. in Paris) in the territories controlled by the regime, i.e. two-thirds of the country. They will close at 7 p.m. local time, unless there is an extension. And the results can be announced within 48 hours.
Two other candidates unknown to the general public
For his new seven-year term, in a country with a tattered economy and crumbling infrastructure, Bashar Al-Assad presents himself as the man of reconstruction, after having chained military battles with the support of Russia and Iran, its unwavering allies, in a war involving a multitude of belligerents and foreign powers.
For several weeks, the portraits of the 55-year-old president have been visible in all places, especially in Damascus. Faced with Mr. Assad, two candidates unknown to the general public are considered stooges: the former minister and parliamentarian Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and a member of the opposition tolerated by the government, Mahmoud Mareï.
The electoral law requires candidates to have lived in Syria ten years in a row before the election, which de facto excludes the very weakened opposition figures in exile. Their main coalition denounced a “Masquerade”.
“No alternative”
Propelled to power in 2000, Mr. Assad replaced his father, Hafez, who died after thirty years of unchallenged rule. For the outgoing president, there is no need for a campaign rally or interviews with the media. Before the ballot, however, the head of state decreed an amnesty for thousands of prisoners.
More than 12,000 polling stations have been set up in government areas, the interior ministry said on Tuesday. And, according to records, the country officially has just over 18 million voters. But with the war that has divided the country and millions of refugees abroad, the number of voters will actually be lower.
In a nation polarized by war, the Kurdish autonomous regions of the northeast will ignore the ballot. Just like the last great jihadist and rebel stronghold of Idlib (northwest), where some three million people live.
Even though the fighting in Syria has waned in intensity, the 2021 election is being held in the midst of an economic slump, with a historic depreciation of the currency, rampant inflation, and more than 80% of the population living in poverty according to the United Nations Organization (UN).
A recent report by the NGO World Vision estimates the economic cost of the war at more than 1,200 billion dollars (just over 1,000 billion euros).
In 2014, Mr. Assad obtained more than 88% of the vote, according to official results. The participation rate exceeded 73%. This presidential election was the first election to see several candidates oppose each other. Previously, Bashar Al-Assad and his father, Hafez, were nominated by referendums, where the yes often won with more than 97% of the vote.