Syrian elections: Bashar Al-Assad stands as candidate again

Ten years after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the Arab country faces a new electoral process under the government control of the current president, Bashar-Al Assad, and without the participation of opposition parties outside the country. According to the official Syrian news agency SANA, “The president of the Council of Deputies, Hamuda Sabag, announces May 26 as the date for the presidential elections, and May 20 for the vote of Syrians. abroad”. However, the external opposition has encouraged the electoral convocation not to be recognized as legitimate. In this sense, the current Constitution requires that in order to stand as a candidate, one has lived in Syria in the last ten years, thus exiled opponents They would be out of the electoral process, an action that they brand as undemocratic. In addition, these elections do not allow the presence of international observers. Al-Asad has validated the candidacy for a fourth term and the candidates who are allowed to stand in the elections scheduled for May 26. Of the 51 candidates presented for the elections, only three were accepted by the president: the Nasserist and former Minister of State, Abdullah Salloum, the leader of the internal opposition in Syria and negotiator in Geneva, Mahmoud Ahmad, and the president himself, Bachar Al- Assad: The Shiite Al-Asad family has been in power for 50 years. In 2000, Bachar Al-Asad assumed power after the death of his father. In the beginning, the new president seemed to be beginning to carry out a series of more social policies after implementing anti-corruption policies and releasing some prisoners imprisoned by his father.However, Army figures began to integrate into the new government and repressive actions against the opposition began to strain a population eager to witness political change. In this sense, and inspired by the emergence of the Arab springs, what began as a peaceful uprising against the regime in March 2011 turned into one of the most cruel wars that humanity has witnessed. In 2014, in the midst of the war, Al-Asad managed to establish himself as president in a highly questioned victory that gave him 88.7% of the votes. In what would be three years of civil war, 160,000 people died as a result of the conflict and almost three million people were forced to leave their homes. Critics of Al-Assad and the Syrian opposition in rebel-held areas accused the elections of being fraudulent. After ten years of a bloody war that has served as the scene of crimes against humanity, Al-Assad’s control over the The army has been the key to staying in power. In addition, it has the support of the Russian military forces, troops that occupy a large part of the land. This grip for power has led Syria and its population to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our century. The organization Amnesty International has accused the current president of being “responsible for a policy of extermination” against the opposition and the UN has published several reports and studies on the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population in the area of Ghouta, peripheral territory of Damascus.With the capture of Eastern Ghouta, one of the main opposition strongholds, several enclaves near Damascus fell in 2018 and Assad managed to advance to lead the recovery of the territory. Still, 30% of the country is under Kurdish control, in a principle supported by the United States. The Kurdish intervention was derived from the support of an international coalition to defeat Daesh. After achieving victory in different territories such as Raqa and Kobane, the Kurds have remained in the area, but now they face different offensives led by Turkish militiamen. Now according to Al-Asad, Syria must face other battles related to the economy, ” the fight against corruption ”and propaganda. However, the economic crisis has plunged the country into historical inflation that barely allows the population to access basic resources. Along with this, the shortage of crude oil and international sanctions may lead the country to a negotiation process in which an attempt is made to restrict Assad’s power, the country is in ruins and the European Union and the United States have already reported that if a democratic transition is not carried out, they will continue to help with resources for its reconstruction. On the other hand, Asad does not seem willing to leave power and his eldest son Hafez could be expected to be his successor.