Assad emphatically wins criticised Syrian elections
Ruling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was announced the winner of the much criticised Syrian elections on Wednesday, taking 88.7% of the vote and securing a third term in office, as fighting continued in many parts of the country.
Opposition controlled areas did not see any voting, yet Syria's constitutional court put the turnout at 73.42%. The two other men on the ticket, who received only 4.3% and 3.2% of the vote, were dismissed by the opposition, claiming they were token candidates who provided no real alternative to the Assad regime.
The elections were also slammed by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said, “The elections are non-elections. A great big zero”. Speaking in Lebanon, he went on to add, "You can't have an election where millions of your people don't even have an ability to vote... Nothing has changed between the day before the election and after”.
He was joined by the European Union in his criticism who stated it was not "a genuinely democratic vote".
Opposition controlled areas did not see any voting, yet Syria's constitutional court put the turnout at 73.42%. The two other men on the ticket, who received only 4.3% and 3.2% of the vote, were dismissed by the opposition, claiming they were token candidates who provided no real alternative to the Assad regime.
The elections were also slammed by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said, “The elections are non-elections. A great big zero”. Speaking in Lebanon, he went on to add, "You can't have an election where millions of your people don't even have an ability to vote... Nothing has changed between the day before the election and after”.
He was joined by the European Union in his criticism who stated it was not "a genuinely democratic vote".
