Presidential election in Syria 2021

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Old and new rulers of Syria: Bashar al-Assad has ruled the country for 21 years

Presidential elections in Syria took place on May 26, 2021 during the civil war that has been going on since 2011 . The incumbent ruler, Bashar al-Assad ( Baath ), and the candidates from the bloc parties Abdullah Sallum Abdullah and Mahmoud Ahmad Marei , who had been approved by the regime, stood for election . The vote is considered a sham because large parts of the population and the democratic opposition were unable to participate.

According to official figures, Bashar al-Assad was re-elected President of Syria with 95.1 percent.

background

The current ruler, Bashar al-Assad, 19th President of Syria, has ruled the country dictatorially for 21 years . He took power in 2000 after his father Hafiz al-Assad died. He had previously ruled Syria for 30 years. In the sham elections in 2000 and 2007 , he received 97.29% and 97.6% of the vote, respectively, according to official figures.

Since 2011 there has been a civil war in Syria that has forced large parts of the population to flee. A total of around 6.6 million people have fled the country. In addition, seven million Syrians were internally displaced , including 4.4 million in rebel-controlled areas and two million in the Kurdish- ruled autonomous areas .

Assad was most recently sworn in on July 16, 2014 for a further seven-year term after another undemocratic election earned him 88.7% of the vote. Even then, the elections only took place in areas controlled by the Syrian government.

The vote took place despite a resolution of the UN Security Council instead of 2015 in which a new constitution is required before the elections.

Observers suspect that the elections were held so that the regime and its protecting power Russia could present the war as won, as well as to rehabilitate the country's reputation with the Arab League and to demonstrate that Syria is a safe country for the return of ( government-loyal) refugees.

The government took a number of measures to sway public opinion in the weeks leading up to the election, including attempts to temporarily lower inflation and extending government grants to civil servants in economically stricken areas. Open and free election advertising was not possible. Pictures of Assad were hung in all polling stations .

Suffrage

According to the Syrian Constitution , adopted in 2012, the prerequisite for the right to vote is the age of eighteen (Article 59). Syrians abroad were able to vote in some foreign embassies on May 20th.

In May 2021, the government troops and their allies controlled around two-thirds of the civil war country. Only in these areas could Syrian voters cast their votes. The Kurds ruling northeast Syria refused to participate in the election.

Candidates

Candidates for the office of President must formally meet the following requirements:

  • Age of at least 40 years
  • Resident in Syrian territory for at least 10 consecutive years at the time of candidacy
  • in possession of the Syrian citizenship since birth, without dual citizenship
  • in possession of the right to vote
  • no conviction for a "despicable crime"
  • not married to a foreign person
  • Muslim .

On May 3, the Syrian Supreme Constitutional Court announced that only three candidates had been admitted. All other applicants were rejected on the grounds that they did not meet "the constitutional and legal requirements":

  • Bashar al-Assad: Acting President of Syria and candidate of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (member of the NPF )
  • Mahmoud Ahmed Marei: Lawyer, Head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights and former Secretary General of the “National Front for the Liberation of Syria”. Unofficial candidate of the Arab Socialist Union (member of the CNCD )
  • Abdullah Sallum Abdullah: Former Minister of State, former MP and candidate of the Socialist Unionist Party (member of the NPF ).

Result

There were 18,107,109 eligible voters, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Allegedly 14,239,140 eligible voters (78.64%) voted. According to official figures, 13,540,860 (95.19%) votes went to Bashar al-Assad. According to SANA, 470,276 (3.31%) votes went to Mahmoud Ahmad Marei, 213,968 (1.50%) voters allegedly voted for Abdullah Sallum Abdullah. 14,036 votes were found invalid.

Criticism and sanctions

The Syrian opposition called the election “illegal” and spoke of a “farce”. Hadi al-Bahra , Vice President of the Syrian National Council , criticized the fact that - not least because of the expulsions as a result of the war - almost only Syrians loyal to the regime could vote.

The United Nations criticized that the sham election ran counter to the Syrian peace process. Countries like the United States , Germany , France , Italy and Great Britain described the presidential election as "neither free nor fair" and "fraudulent". Even before the election, Turkey declared that the elections could not be legit.

The European Union extended its sanctions ( oil embargo , export of equipment and technology, restrictions on investments and freezing of Syrian central bank assets ) against the Assad government for another year until June 2022.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Syria to hold election in May after years of war . In: BBC News . April 18, 2021 ( bbc.com [accessed May 25, 2021]).
  2. ↑ a b c Syria: Bashar al-Assad can be re-elected with 95.1 percent. In: Der Spiegel. Retrieved May 27, 2021 .
  3. ↑ a b m.eyon: Dr. Bashar al-Assad elected President of the Syrian Arab Republic with the majority of votes. In: Syrian Arab News Agency. May 28, 2021, accessed May 27, 2021 (American English).
  4. ↑ Catherine Neilan: Arab states accept sham Syria elections as Assad returns to fold . In: The Telegraph , May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021. 
  5. ^ Democracy Damascus style: Assad the only choice in referendum . In: The Guardian , May 28, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2021. 
  6. ↑ Chulov, Martin (April 14, 2014). "The one certainty about Syria's looming election - Assad will win" The Guardian.
  7. ↑ More uprooted, fewer return, pushing forcibly displaced above 80 million ( en ) December 9, 2020. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved on May 4, 2021.
  8. ↑ Nicholas Cheeseman: How to Rig an Election . Yale University Press, 2019, ISBN 978-0-300-24665-0 , pp. 140-141, OCLC 1089560229 .
  9. ↑ Assad seeks re-election as Syrian civil war rages . In: Reuters , April 28, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2015. 
  10. ↑ Catherine Neilan: Arab states accept sham Syria elections as Assad returns to fold . In: The Telegraph , May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021. 
  11. ↑ Bethan McKernan: Civil war, ruin, raging poverty ... but Assad is guaranteed to win Syria's fake election . May 23, 2021. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  12. ↑ Syria elections: Polls open as Western countries slam 'illegitimate' vote - May 26th, 2021 . Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved on May 26, 2021.
  13. ↑ tagesschau.de: Commentary on the presidential election in Syria: Despot plays a democrat. Retrieved May 28, 2021 .
  14. ↑ Bethan McKernan: Civil war, ruin, raging poverty ... but Assad is guaranteed to win Syria's fake election . May 23, 2021. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  15. ↑ Kareem Chehayeb: Syrians vote in election set to extend al-Assad's grip on power - Bashar al-Assad News . May 26, 2021. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved on May 26, 2021.
  16. ↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Refworld | Syrian Arab Republic: Constitution, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2021 .
  17. ↑ a b Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Syria: Ruler Assad can be re-elected | DW | 04/27/2021. Retrieved on May 25, 2021 (German).
  18. ↑ Mazen Gharibah: Local Elections in Post-Agreement Syria: Opportunities and Challenges for Local Representation. London School of Economics and Political Science, December 2018, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  19. ↑ Syrian court accepts 3 candidates to run for president. May 3, 2021, accessed May 25, 2021 .
  20. ↑ The party distanced itself from the candidate and announced that he had been excluded since 2013 . She officially found the entire election illegitimate. ( Source )
  21. ↑ Syrian election candidates announced - World - Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved May 25, 2021 .
  22. ↑ Syria's Supreme Constitutional Court Finalizes List of Candidates for Presidential Election. Retrieved May 25, 2021 .
  23. ↑ Syria election: Bashar al Assad elected for fourth term as president after winning 95.1% of the vote . May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  24. ↑ Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wins election claiming 95.1 per cent of votes - ABC News . May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  25. ↑ المعارضة السورية: انتخابات النظام الرئاسية مسرحية هزلية (تقرير) . April 19, 2021. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved on May 27, 2021.
  26. ↑ Syria elections: Polls open as Western countries slam 'illegitimate' vote - May 26th, 2021 . Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved on May 26, 2021.
  27. ↑ United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen briefing to the Security Council on Syria, April 28, 2021 - Syrian Arab Republic . April 28, 2021. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved on May 24, 2021.
  28. ↑ Kareem Chehayeb: Western countries, activists slam Syria's upcoming election - Bashar al-Assad News . April 21, 2021. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved on May 20, 2021.
  29. ↑ US won't recognize Syria presidency vote unless UN involved . March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  30. ↑ Kareem Chehayeb: Western countries, activists slam Syria's upcoming election - Bashar al-Assad News . April 21, 2021. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved on May 20, 2021.
  31. ↑ Syrian presidential election won't be 'free nor fair' warn US, Europeans . May 25, 2021. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved on May 26, 2021.
  32. ↑ Int'l community cannot deem Syrian elections legitimate: Turkish MFA . April 23, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  33. ↑ Diana Hodali: Syria: Bashar al-Assad remains for an indefinite period In: dw.com , May 25, 2021, accessed on May 25, 2021.