In Damascus, supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad celebrated the results of the presidential election that gave the incumbent a fourth term.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term with 95.1% of the vote, extending his rule over a war-torn country, but opponents and the West say the voting process was marred by fraud.
Assad’s government says Wednesday’s election shows that Syria is functioning normally, despite a decade-long conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and evicted 11 million people – about half the population – from their homes.
Parliament Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh announced the results at a news conference on Thursday, saying the turnout was about 78 percent, with more than 14 million Syrians.
The elections continued, despite recommendations for the vote to be cast under international supervision.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States criticized Assad before the election, saying the vote would not be free or fair. Turkey, an opponent of Assad, also said the election was illegitimate.
The gain gives Assad, 55, another seven years in power and extends his family’s leadership to nearly six decades. His father, Hafez al-Assad, ruled Syria for 30 years until his death in 2000.
“I thank all the Syrians for their high sense of nationalism and their remarkable participation. … For the future of Syria’s children and youth, let’s start our campaign tomorrow to build hope and build Syria, “Assad wrote on his campaign’s Facebook page.
Rallies with thousands of people waving Syrian flags and holding pictures of Assad as they sang and danced took place Thursday.
Officials said authorities had held large rallies in recent days to encourage voting.
Assad ran against two obscure candidates, former deputy cabinet minister Abdallah Saloum Abdallah, and Mahmoud Ahmed Marei, the leader of a small opposition party.
–
For the most important news of the day, broadcast in real time and presented equidistantly, LIKE our Facebook page!
Follows Mediafax on Instagram to see spectacular images and stories from around the world!
The content of the website www.mediafax.ro is intended exclusively for your personal information and use. It is prohibited republishing the content of this site in the absence of an agreement from MEDIAFAX. To obtain this agreement, please contact us at [email protected].
