Victory by Assad in Syrian elections is foregone conclusion
The elections, which are taking place contrary to a U.N. Security Council resolution that determined that they will only be valid following the adoption of a new constitution, are already being denounced as a sham – like the previous ones in which the president received almost 90% of the vote
Mandi Kogosowski
| 21/04/2021
Bashar Assad. Photo: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
The Syrian parliament announced this week that the country will hold presidential elections on May 26. The registration of candidates started on Tuesday. In the previous elections which took place in 2014, Assad, who has ruled the country since his father's death in 2000, received almost 90% of the vote, which sparked international criticism over fraud.
The Al Jazeera website reported that it can be assumed that the elections will result in another victory by the incumbent president, Bashar al-Assad. The candidates must be residents of Syria for at least the last 10 years, which means leading exiles who fought against the Assad family are barred from running, and must receive at least 35 votes from members of the parliament which is controlled by Assad's Baath party. In any case, any other candidate will only run for president for appearance's sake.
"Assad tries slowly to strangle the political process while he reins over a country in ruins," tweeted Hadi Albahra, co-chair of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and former president of the opposition coalition (the Syrian National Coalition). "These tactics will not resolve the Syrian crisis, nor will convince the refugees to go back home and would not succeed in achieving sustainable security and stabilization."
Albahra added that the only solution is the adoption of resolution 2254 of the U.N. Security Council from 2015, calling for the end of the fighting in the country. "UNSC resolution 2254 (2015) called for a political process consisting of 3 essential elements: Transitional Government, a New Constitution, and Free and Fair Elections. The regime goal is noticeably clear: to delay the CC long enough for Assad to hold and win the illegitimate 2021 presidential election under the current constitution in a clear violation of UNSCR 2254."
According to the country's constitution from 2012, the country's president may only serve two terms, seven years each, with the exception of the president elected in 2014. Seven years have now passed since those elections, but it is hard to believe that Assad will willingly give up power in another seven years. There have already been five rounds of fruitless talks in Geneva by the constitutional committee, which was set up in 2019 with the support of the U.N. and includes its representatives in addition to those of Assad and the rebels.
After the intention to hold elections became known last month, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on the international community "to not be fooled by upcoming Syrian presidential elections. These elections will neither be free nor fair. They will not legitimize the Assad regime. They do not meet the criteria laid out in Resolution 2254 – including that they be supervised by the UN or conducted pursuant to a new constitution."
About 400,000 people are known to have lost their lives during the civil war that has been raging for a decade, and according to assessments, more than half of Syria's citizens have been uprooted from their homes.
The elections, which are taking place contrary to a U.N. Security Council resolution that determined that they will only be valid following the adoption of a new constitution, are already being denounced as a sham – like the previous ones in which the president received almost 90% of the vote
Bashar Assad. Photo: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
The Syrian parliament announced this week that the country will hold presidential elections on May 26. The registration of candidates started on Tuesday. In the previous elections which took place in 2014, Assad, who has ruled the country since his father's death in 2000, received almost 90% of the vote, which sparked international criticism over fraud.
The Al Jazeera website reported that it can be assumed that the elections will result in another victory by the incumbent president, Bashar al-Assad. The candidates must be residents of Syria for at least the last 10 years, which means leading exiles who fought against the Assad family are barred from running, and must receive at least 35 votes from members of the parliament which is controlled by Assad's Baath party. In any case, any other candidate will only run for president for appearance's sake.
"Assad tries slowly to strangle the political process while he reins over a country in ruins," tweeted Hadi Albahra, co-chair of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and former president of the opposition coalition (the Syrian National Coalition). "These tactics will not resolve the Syrian crisis, nor will convince the refugees to go back home and would not succeed in achieving sustainable security and stabilization."
Albahra added that the only solution is the adoption of resolution 2254 of the U.N. Security Council from 2015, calling for the end of the fighting in the country. "UNSC resolution 2254 (2015) called for a political process consisting of 3 essential elements: Transitional Government, a New Constitution, and Free and Fair Elections. The regime goal is noticeably clear: to delay the CC long enough for Assad to hold and win the illegitimate 2021 presidential election under the current constitution in a clear violation of UNSCR 2254."
According to the country's constitution from 2012, the country's president may only serve two terms, seven years each, with the exception of the president elected in 2014. Seven years have now passed since those elections, but it is hard to believe that Assad will willingly give up power in another seven years. There have already been five rounds of fruitless talks in Geneva by the constitutional committee, which was set up in 2019 with the support of the U.N. and includes its representatives in addition to those of Assad and the rebels.
After the intention to hold elections became known last month, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on the international community "to not be fooled by upcoming Syrian presidential elections. These elections will neither be free nor fair. They will not legitimize the Assad regime. They do not meet the criteria laid out in Resolution 2254 – including that they be supervised by the UN or conducted pursuant to a new constitution."
About 400,000 people are known to have lost their lives during the civil war that has been raging for a decade, and according to assessments, more than half of Syria's citizens have been uprooted from their homes.
