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Published: 03 May 2021
Edit... Dina El Sheriff
The Supreme Constitutional Court of Syria granted President Bashar al-Assad's request to run for the presidential election to be held on May 26. Which he's sure to win.
The Tribunal acquitted two other candidates, Abdullah Saloom Abdullah and Mahmoud Ahmed Moraei, although Assad's victory was almost guaranteed for a fourth term, to extend his term two decades ago.
Assad has ruled since 2000, succeeding his father, who took power in a coup d'état in 1970. Syria has been suffering a civil war since 2011, although Assad's government has taken back control of most of the territory controlled by the rebels who were trying to overthrow him.
It should be noted that candidates must have lived in Syria over the past 10 years, excluding exiled opposition figures from standing. The authorities also arrested dozens of activists who questioned the legitimacy of the vote.
Washington and the Syrian opposition denounced the planned elections as a farce aimed at consolidating Assad's authoritarian rule.
Senior United Nations officials announced this month that the elections did not comply with Security Council resolutions, which call for a political process to end the conflict in Syria, a new constitution and elections run under the auspices of the United Nations "with the highest standards of transparency and accountability."