Syrians vote for their next parliament, which will likely pave the best way for Assad to extend his rule

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrians were casting ballots for members of an unelected parliament on Monday in an election that was expected to retain few surprises but could pave the way for a constitutional amendment to extend the term. President Bashar Assad.

This is the fourth vote in Syria since anti-government protests and a brutal crackdown by security forces in 2011. an ongoing civil conflict, It comes as economic conditions in the country worsen, prompting demonstrations in the south.

Syria’s 2024 parliamentary elections exclude rebel-held northwest Syria and the country’s northeast under the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Selection of eligible citizens has not been initiated either, and unlike presidential elections, millions of Syrian migrants – whose numbers have increased due to civil conflict – do not appear to be certified to vote for legislators.

Western countries and Assad’s critics say voting in government-run areas in Syria is neither free nor fair.

This year, there are 1,516 government-approved applicants vying for the 250-seat National Assembly. About 8,151 polling stations have been set up in 15 polling districts in government-run areas, with results expected to be declared on Monday evening or next week.

According to officials, in the last round of elections in 2020, results were delayed by several days due to technical problems. Assad’s Ba’ath Birthday Party, along with 17 others from allies, won 166 seats, with another 67 seats held by individual contenders.

Ballot taking as park Syria’s financial system continues to deteriorate Subsequent years of conflict, Western-led sanctions, the COVID-19 pandemic and declining donor support Tiredness,

Meanwhile, the value of the country’s national currency has fallen to unprecedented lows against the dollar, leading to rising food and gasoline inflation. federal government also Partially restarted its subsidy program Almost a year ago on this date, public sector and pension pay was doubled.

Voters informed the concerned press that resolving Syria’s faltering financial system was a key factor.

“We hope that our trust in these new legislators will be good for the country and will improve conditions,” Ahmed al-Afoush, 40, said after voting in Damascus.

Shirin al-Khalif hopes the unused parliament will take active steps to improve housing conditions in Syria.

“I don’t want to say that the predecessors were not good. We just want things to improve,” said the 47-year-old engineer.

Within the Druze-majority Southern Province swedaWhile anti-government protests have been ongoing for nearly a year due to the economic crisis, many people called for a boycott of the elections. Videos posted online via local activist media group Suweda24 and others showed protesters snatching ballots from a truck in an attempt to restrict them from reaching polling stations.

Elsewhere, election campaigning was less significant as candidates focused mainly on popular slogans such as national unity and prosperity.

Vladimir Pran, a separate facilitator of transitional political and electoral processes, said that the offensive part of the Syrian electoral process comes before voting begins, when the vote-on lists of Ba’ath Party candidates are sent to the party’s central command, allowing them to vote in the elections. To allow participation in.

“The elections are actually already over…with the primary process over,” he said. As soon as the record of the Bath birthday celebrations ends, “you can check the list and the results, and you will see that virtually all of them will be in Parliament.”

The number of officials making the overall record this year was significantly lower, indicating a reshuffle in the Ba’ath Party.

Maroun Scheuer, an expert on transitional electoral and political processes, said that during the Ba’ath Party’s Separate Walk era, 169 applicants had offered the margin of 167 MPs to propose a constitutional amendment, protecting the president from charges of treason and veto. Law.

Besides, 16 candidates from Baath-affiliated parties are also working on the same record, he said. “You are only three MPs short of the three-fourths of Parliament that is required to (pass) a constitutional amendment.”

life that leaves 65 slots vacant for different applicants, Sphere said they should no longer be expected to provide a real opposition faction.

“They have all been pre-screened … to make sure they are all loyal and pose no threat,” he said.

Assad faces term limits that would see his presidency end in 2028, with the latter’s parliament largely expected to aim to pass a constitutional amendment to extend his term.

After casting his vote in Damascus, Assad spoke to journalists about the vote and how the parliament could become a platform for nationwide discussion in the country.

He also talked about Attempts at reconciliation with Türkiye, Which has sponsored opposition warring parties since the beginning of the Syrian conflict 13 years ago. He said such efforts in the last five years have failed to reach the goals.

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Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press editor Karim Chehayeb contributed to this file from Beirut.