Defiant Assad announces presidential election in Syria

Although fighting continues in Syria’s long-running civil war and the country remains deeply fragmented, a defiant Syrian president, Bashar Assad, has announced that Syria will hold presidential elections next month.

It will be the country’s second presidential election to take place during the civil war in more than a decade. The vote is scheduled for May 26. Parliament Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh said in a statement on Sunday that Syrians living abroad would be able to “vote at embassies” on May 20th. Assad is not expected to face serious provocateurs. Hussein Ibish, a senior scholar at the Arab Institute of Gulf States in Washington, told The Media Line that it is not unusual for an Arab country with a republican form of government, but led by a de facto dictator, to hold elections. “It is typical of the authoritarian behavior and dictatorial leaders of republics,” he said. A republic is supposed to be a democratic form of government, but in Syria it is only in name, because there is no real democratic process. Thus, the elections will take place, even if they are fraudulent.

Ibish said the election would take place despite international rejection and opposition objection. “Virtually all regimes need a narrative of legitimacy beyond brute power,” he added, “but it is, of course, a farce. The idea is to give the regime foreign representatives, supporters and allies the ability to claim that the government has a certain legitimacy beyond brute force. And indeed, Assad has a very strong constituency in Syria, though it is almost certainly a minority. “Ibish says these elections will not” change anything in one way or another. ” says Assad has a tight grip on the country, with Syrians supporting or opposing him or being ambivalent. “He has control and is completely independent of any election. These are not real elections, so the result is not in any doubt. And he will not add any internal legitimacy to his claims on the government,” Ibish said. Syrian researcher Aron Lund of FOI – the Swedish Defense Research Agency, told The Media Line that it is “typical of authoritarian governments around the world to hold elections and that it is not unique to Syria”. Lund says the Syrian government wants to project the image of a stable and functioning state, which functions in a normal way, and demonstrate that it is capable of holding elections. “The Syrian constitution requires regular elections, and the government takes care to maintain a constitutional appearance. It has always tried to hold elections on time, including for parliament, the president and local assemblies,” Lund said. The US and EU have described Syria’s 2014 elections, which Assad won by almost 90% of the vote, as undemocratic and illegitimate. The opposition called it a fraud. “The idea is not to thank the opposition or the international community, it is to tick a box in the constitution and show that the Assad regime remains in control and can still impose its own policy on Syria,” said Lund.Suhail al-Ghazi, a Syrian researcher and a non-resident colleague at the Tahrir Institute for Middle Eastern Politics, based in Washington, DC, told The Media Line that holding elections is important for Damascus and its supporter, Moscow, as it shows that the country is moving forward. “The elections are a policy of the regime and Russia that shows that Syria is progressing and becoming a normal country. It is a way of saying that the Syrians support Assad and that Syria is still there,” he said. Ghazi also says that Assad and Russia want to show that the state “does not care about the political solution or the transition.” He says the organization of national elections is for public consumption. “Internally, the regime is using these elections to tell people that Syria is fine and to push propaganda among the people, especially the younger generation,” he added. The country’s bloody civil war has ruined the Syrian economy, aggravated by a In the meantime, 6 million people have been displaced and another 5 million have fled the country, and for many Syrians and experts, the result is an abandoned conclusion – Assad is undoubtedly expected to remain in power and he easily wins another seven-year term. ”This is not a choice, it is a farce. It is an attempt by the Syrian regime to legitimize itself, to reintroduce itself, “Ahmad al-Zain told The Media Line by telephone from a refugee camp for displaced people in northern Syria, near Aleppo. Zain, 47 For years, the father of five children from Rural Damascus has wondered how elections can take place in Syria today. “The country is divided and not everyone will have a chance to run or vote. I live in a tent with my family and I won’t have a chance to vote, “he said.” Where is democracy here? ” Lund says the election “will not be free or fair,” but that for the Syrian government, securing a relatively large turnout is a victory and allows it to claim that “Assad’s government has public support.” he does not believe that Syria is If the government can ensure a wide enough participation – especially in government-controlled areas and at foreign embassies – it will prove that Assad is capable of mobilizing and leading many Syrians, “he said. Despite the ongoing fighting and the lack of complete control by the country’s government, it is important that elections be held to convince both Syrians and the world that life is back to normal. “If the military and police forces can prevent attacks or disturbances during the election process, the government will also demonstrate that its security control remains effective,” Lund said. And no matter how Syrians really feel about Assad, many will go to the polls. “Many Syrians will appear simply because they expect to do so, no matter what they think of him. [Assad’s] rule. It is an authoritarian system and when the government demands a show of support, most people will give in and continue their lives. That’s how these things work. You are not asked for your opinion; you are told to be present, “Lund said. Assad became president after the death of his father, Hafez, more than 20 years ago. Like his father before him, Assad rules with an iron fist that contributed to protecting its control over the eruption of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria that threatened Assad’s leadership and sent the country into chaos, and since 2015, with the support of Russian forces, the Syrian army has slowly but surely Assad has not yet officially announced that he will run for re-election, and according to the 2012 Syrian constitution, a president can serve only two seven-year terms – except for the president-elect in the poll. Since 2014. Candidates must have lived continuously in Syria for at least 10 years, which means that opposition people living in exile are excluded from running in next month’s elections. ie also have the support of at least 35 members of parliament, which is dominated by Assad’s Ba’ath party. Syria’s more than ten-year civil war has left about 400,000 dead and half its population displaced.