admin
BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared yesterday he will seek re-election in June, defying calls from his opponents to step aside and allow a political solution to the devastating civil war stemming from protests against his rule. Assad formally submitted his nomination to Syria’s constitutional court to stand in an election which his Western and Arab foes have dismissed as a parody of democracy amid the turmoil of Syria’s civil war.
He is the seventh person to put himself forward for Syria’s first multi-candidate presidential vote in decades, but none of his rivals are expected to mount a serious challenge and end 44 years of Assad family rule.
The announcement was made in parliament by speaker Mohammad al-Laham, who read out Assad’s submission. “I . . . Dr Bashar Hafez al Assad…wish to nominate myself for the post of president of the republic, hoping that parliament will endorse it,” it said.
State media said crowds gathered to celebrate the upcoming election and recent military gains by Assad’s forces who, supported by foreign allies, have turned the tide of a war which 18 months ago challenged his control over Damascus.
“As soon as we heard that the president announced his candidacy we came down to the streets to celebrate because we cannot see any future Syria without his excellency President Bashar al-Assad,” said Khadija Hashma, one of about 100 people demonstrating in the central Damascus district of Mezzeh.
In a statement just minutes after his candidacy was announced Assad appealed for restraint and said any “demonstration of joy” should be responsible, urging people not to fire celebratory shots in the air.
Syria’s opposition leaders in exile, barred from standing by a constitutional clause requiring candidates to have lived in Syria continuously for 10 years, dismissed the vote as a charade.
The constitution also says candidates must have the backing of 35 members of the pro-Assad parliament, effectively ruling out dissenting voices from the campaign. — Reuters.
Online Reporter