Syria Support Movement solidarity with the Syrian people
Jun 3, 2014, NSNBC
Polling stations in Syria opened Tuesday at 7:00 am, with voters turning out in large numbers throughout the country, to participate in Syria’s first pluralistic presidential elections based on the new Constitution of Syria, which was adopted by an overwhelming majority of Syrians on February 27, 2012.
Contesting the presidency for the coming seven years are Maher Abdel Hafiz Hajjar, Hassan Abdullah al-Nouri and Bashar al-Assad. All three have played an active role in Syria’s ongoing reform process since 2012.
Syria’s first pluralistic presidential elections are the next, logic step within the reform program that has been adopted by all of Syria’s domestic, religious, ethnic, and political communities as well as advocacy groups who participated in the national dialog and reform process.
People continue flocking to the 9601 polling stations, casting their vote in one of the 11.776 ballot boxes, monitored by observers from the Russian State Duma (Parliament) and international dignitaries from Canada, the U.S. and Ireland.
More than 200 mass media, including news agencies, TV channels, radio stations and newspaper from countries throughout the world cover the elections.
The election is decried as a “farce” in those countries, who are the main sponsors of that terrorism, that has devastated the country, claimed over 160.000 lives and displaced millions since 2011.
It is worth recalling the words of former French Foreign Minister, Roland Dumas, who stepped forward on nationwide French TV and admitted, that top-British officials had asked him, two years before the onset of the so-called “Arab Spring”, if he wanted to participate in subverting the Syrian regime with the help of rebels. It is madness, said Dumas, this must end.
Damascus International Airport reported a large influx of Syrian expatriates from countries like the U.S., France, Kuwait, and others who prohibited that Syrians could vote in their respective embassies. The Syrian news agency SANA reported that two planes with members of the Syrian community in Kuwait arrived at Damascus International Airport on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, the Speaker of Syria’s Parliament, Jihad al-Laham, visited the Syrian expatriates community in Kuwait recognizing their determination to make use of their right to participate in the elections.
Some 15.8 million people have been registered as voters. Syria had a population of 22.4 million people as of 2012. Considering the legal minimum age for voters and the fact that about 40 % of Syria’s population have been displaced, the 15.8 million voter registrations are a massive mandate for the elections. The polling stations are expected to be open until 7:00 pm.
Incumbent President Bashar al-Assad is clearly leading all polls and is largely perceived as the only candidate who has sufficient experience and support within all segments of the Syrian population to successfully continue Syria’s reform process and combat terrorism. Both Maher Abdel Hafiz Hajjar and Hassan Abdullah al-Nouri are well-known within Syrian politics. Al-Nouri stressed last week, that his participation in the presidential election is less based on his will to win the presidency than on his support for the Syrian nation and the continuation of the reform and peace process.
