Bashar al-Assad set to win fourth term as Syrians head to polls

dpa Damascus Syrians headed to polling stations across government-held areas of the country on Wednesday, in a presidential election expected to hand incu...

dpa DamascusSyrians headed to polling stations across government-held areas of the country on Wednesday, in a presidential election expected to hand incumbent Bashar al-Assad a fourth term in office.    Syrian state television showed long queues of people at polls, which opened at 7 am (0400 GMT). The broadcaster interviewed some al-Assad loyalists.  “We are proud today to come and take part in this election as it is our national duty,” a woman told Syrian television in Aleppo, the second-largest city in Syria.The broadcaster also showed some loyalists dancing and waving the Syrian flag, as well as photographs of al-Assad displayed outside polling stations in various areas in Damascus and Sweida, in south-western Syria.  Al-Assad cast his ballot in Douma, a former rebel stronghold on the outskirts of the capital, Syrian state television reported.Douma is part of the eastern Ghouta region, where a suspected chemical attack took place in 2018 and was blamed on the Syrian government.“Douma’s visit and the election provide confirmation that Syria is not a region against a region or a sect against a sect,” al-Assad was quoted as telling Syrian television.  Al-Assad, 55, is facing few serious rivals and is virtually certain to win in the one-day vote.Syrian Information Minister Imad Sarah described the turnout “as very high,” without giving specific figures.Meanwhile, in Idlib, the last rebel stronghold in north-western Syria, hundreds of people Wednesday protested against the presidential vote, calling it “mockery and comedy.” The demonstrators chanted slogans against al-Assad, reiterated their support for the Syrian revolution and called for freedom and unity against “the killer regime of Bashar al-Assad,” activists said.  On the eve of the vote, the secretary of state of the United States, the foreign secretary of Britain, and the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Italy issued a joint statement of condemnation against the “fraudulent election.” The five nations said they “support the voices of all Syrians, including civil society organizations and the Syrian opposition, who have condemned the electoral process as illegitimate.” More than 18 million Syrians are eligible to vote in and outside the country, Syrian Interior Minister Mohammed al Rahmoun said.