Syrian President Bashar Al Assad (Representative Image) (@Presidency_Sy/Twitter)Voting was underway on Sunday (19 July) for Syria’s parliamentary elections, the third since the start of the civil war in 2011 and also as President Bashar al-Assad marks 20 years in power.
A total of 7,277 polling stations opened across the government-controlled areas on Sunday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.
Voters can choose between a total of 1,656 candidates for the 250-seat parliament.
Wearing masks, Assad and his wife cast their ballots at a polling centre in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.
The elections, originally scheduled to be held in April, were postponed twice due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
In the 2016 polls, the Baath Party and its allies took 200 of the 250 Parliament seats, while the remaining went to independent candidates.
The Syrian government now controls around 70 per cent of the country’s territory while ultra-radical rebels control the Idlib province and the US-backed Kurdish militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) control areas in northeastern Syria.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.