Bashar al-Assad has won his fourth seven-year term in the 2021 presidential race. Huge crowds of Assad supporters filled the main Umayyad Square in Damacsuc.
the Syrian parliament announced on Thursday the victory of the Syrian President. According to Hamoudeh Sabbagh, the parliament speaker, Assad won 95.1 per cent of the vote as opposed to 88.7 per cent in the 2014 election.
About 14 million of the estimated 18 million eligible voters inside and outside Syria cast their votes, with a turnout rate of 78.64 per cent.
Commenting on the results, the US and European officials have questioned the legitimacy of the election in Syria. The diplomats say it: i) violates UN resolutions in place to resolve the conflict, ii) lacks any international monitoring, and iii) is unrepresentative of all Syrians.
Meantime, huge crowds of Assad supporters filled the main square in the Syrian capital of Damascus, to celebrate another milestone in history. The victory of the sitting President became the expected news. People are waving Syrian flags and posters of Assad, while national music was blaring from loudspeakers.
Banners supporting Assad adorned the square and main streets in the capital.
Syria enters new phase
Assad’s win was largely anticipated as his competitors in the race are a low-profile opposition figure and a former cabinet minister.
The election was held on Wednesday with the polling stations open until midnight.
The Syrian government has been encouraging voters to cast their votes for the “future of Syria”.
On July 17, 2000, Assad succeeded his father Hafez al-Assad as the Syrian president.
Under the current Syrian constitution adopted in 2012, al-Assad has the right to run for office twice, which means that this would be his last term in office, Xinhua reported.
