SYRIA: Syria holds a parliamentary election which authorities tout as a milestone of political reform after a 14-month popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad

Record ID: 280700

  • Title: SYRIA: Syria holds a parliamentary election which authorities tout as a milestone of political reform after a 14-month popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad
  • Date: 8th May 2012
  • Summary: WOMAN WITH A BABY VOTING
  • Embargoed: 23rd May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2EEU7EV3UEC5L11097624D2C3
  • Story Text: Syrians vote on Monday (May 7) in parliamentary elections as violence rocks the east of the country, underlining the challenge of holding a credible poll while bloodshed continues and complicating the task of U.N. observers monitoring a ceasefire declared on April 12.
    Opposition activists reported fighting between the army and rebels in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor and attacks by Assad's forces that killed five people in other parts of the country on Sunday, including one young man shot dead in house-to-house raids in the capital Damascus.
    Unlike autocratic leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen who were toppled by the Arab Spring, Assad has kept enough support among the military and his Alawite sect, which dominates the army and security apparatus, to withstand the revolt.
    Since succeeding his father President Hafez al-Assad in 2000, Assad has relied on a pliant parliament to rubber-stamp the will of the ruling family in the majority Sunni Muslim country.
    The assembly currently does not have a single opposition member and official media said half the seats would be reserved for "representatives of workers and peasants", whose unions are controlled by Assad's Baath Party.
    Opposition figures, many of whom have fled the country or have been arrested during the revolt, are boycotting the vote, saying Syria's revised constitution - which allowed new political parties to be set up this year - has changed nothing.
    Voters say they don't want to lose their democratic right to vote.
    "All the conditions that the country has passed through make it necessary for everyone to be responsible. It is our duty and our right to vote and deliver our voice. So why would we deny ourselves? The situation requires that we vote for the benefit of the country" says Intisar Yassari, one early morning voter In central districts of Damascus, pictures of candidates were displayed in the streets, including businessmen, filmmakers, and presenters on government television.
    The authorities say there are 14 million eligible voters, including expatriates, and 7,195 candidates.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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