On Wednesday, Syrians in government-held areas of the war-torn country, casted their poll in a presidential election guaranteed to give President Bashar Assad a fourth seven-year term.
Seen as a sham, by the opposition and Western countries, including the United States, the elections is the second presidential election since the country’s conflict began 10 years ago.
“The Assad regime’s so-called presidential election is neither free nor fair,” U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken said in a Twitter post Wednesday.
“The U.S. joins France, Germany, Italy, and the UK in calling for the rejection of the regime’s attempts to regain legitimacy without respecting the Syrian people’s human rights and freedoms,” Blinken
Assad blasted countries that have dismissed the vote as illegitimate, saying most of those nations “have colonial history” and “we as a state are not concerned about such statements.” He spoke Wednesday morning after casting his ballot in the Damascus suburb of Douma.
The area was one of the main rebel strongholds in the country until it was retaken by government forces in 2018. It was the scene of an alleged poison gas attack in April 2018 that triggered strikes by the U.S., Britain and France.
“The vote that we are performing today would not have happened had it not been for the thousands of martyrs that fell while defending the land and people,” Assad said.
The 55-year-old Assad arrived at the polling station with his wife, Asma, driving his own car.
Assad has been in power since 2000, after he took over from his father Hafez, who ruled before him for 30 years. Despite the war, which seemed at one point to threaten his rule, Assad remained in power supported by regional powerhouses, Iran and Russia, which sent in military advisers and air power to push back the armed opposition.
Two other candidates are running for the country’s top post, which has been held by members of the Assad family for five decades.
