Syria: the elections of a country in shambles

Presidential elections in Syria will be held on 26th May. They will be the second presidential elections since the war began in the country in 2011, and the result seems to be pretty obvious

After the announcement of the Syrian Parliament last April 21^stto hold elections on 26^th May, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad filed papers to run for a third term. Assad, who took power after the death of his father Hafez in 2000, won with nearly 90% of the votes during the previous election in 2014, three years after a bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters and during the raging conflict.

The next elections between constitutional law and amnesty

According to Syrian law, only people who have lived continuously in Syria for the previous 10 years are eligible to run for office, meaning that exiled political leaders will not be able to run in the next election. Candidates must also have the support of at least 35 of the 250 members of the Syrian parliament, which is dominated by the Baath party, led by Assad.

On 3^rd May, however, Syria’s higher constitutional court selected two obscure figures to appear on ballots to run against President Bashar al-Assad, a figure the opposition rejects as a sham who will hurt diplomatic efforts to end the 10-year-long civil war. From a list of 51 potential candidates, the court approved just two: the former deputy cabinet minister Abdallah Saloum Abdallah, and Mahmoud Ahmed Marei, the head of a small opposition party. At the same time, the current Syrian President has issued a decree authorising the release of prisoners, including those convicted of crimes or complicity in acts of “terrorism”. The amnesty states that the pardon will be granted to prisoners convicted of crimes committed before 2^nd May 2021, including those convicted of minor offences. The decree includes the offences related to the terrorist act of 2012, including the “conspiracy” to commit a “terrorist” act.

The amnesty also includes army defectors who surrender within three months if they are in the country, or within six months if they are abroad. Naser al-Hariri, the secretary general of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, denounced the elections as a farce because the prisoners who will be released have been threatened and indoctrinated to vote for Assad in the next election.

The reactions of western countries

The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the United States have called to boycott of the elections, which they predict will not be free and will only serve to strengthen Assad’s power in the country. The United Nations said that the vote will not comply with Security Council resolutions, which call for a political process to end the conflict in Syria, a new constitution, and free elections administered under U.N. supervision.

In addition to this, the second problem concerns refugees who have fled Syria, currently estimated to be more than 4 million. The United States and France are calling for a political solution before the presidential vote is held, as millions outside of Syria, including members of the Syrian opposition who might have been interested in participating in the upcoming polls, were effectively banned from running for office on May 26 because of their lack of residency during the 10 years prior to this year’s elections.

The conditions and regulations make it impossible for a genuine political opposition to run for elections. And with a war still going on, a country on its knees, and devaluation of the Syrian lira since February 2021, Syria risks being trapped in a situation that seems to have no way out.