Syria To Hold Election In May After Years Of War

Syria’s parliament announced yesterday that the country will hold its presidential election on the 26^th of May. 

 The door for nominations will be open as of Monday for 10 days. Syrians abroad will vote on May the 20th. Experts say President Assad is not likely to face serious opposition despite continuing conflict and a growing economic crisis. It is the second presidential election to take place during the civil war. The previous vote in 2014 – dismissed as undemocratic and illegitimate by opponents within Syria and by the US and EU – saw Mr Assad win 92% of the vote.

The 2014 vote was also the first time in decades that someone other than a member of the Assad family had been allowed to stand for president in Syria. But the other two candidates were not widely known and received little publicity.  UN’s special envoy to Syria said there had been little progress due to a lack of “true engagement” by Syria. It follows accusations by the US and other Western countries that Syria was deliberately delaying the draft of a new constitution in order to avoid having to hold the 2021 presidential election under UN supervision.