In accordance with the conditions of the new Syrian Constitution adopted on 26 February 2012, the next Presidential Election is scheduled to take place on June 3, 2014.
There are at present several opposition candidates but these will be trimmed down to at most three. This is due to the "Constitutional Laws" which ensure that Bachar al Assad alone can realistically expect to be "elected" !
Sections 84 and 85 of the Constitution prescribe the following conditions for Presidential Candidates;
- Candidates must be at least 40 years old.
- They must be arab Syrians born of arab Syrian parents having the Syrian Nationality since birth.
- They must never have lost their Nationality.
- They must not be married to a foreigner.
- They must have lived in Syria for the last 10 years.
- They need the written support of 35 Syrian MPs.
The Syrian Parliament has 250 elected MPs, of which currently the Ba'ath Party of Assad has 134 MPs. This means that a maximum of 3 candidates only can stand against Bachar who will have 134 sponsors !
Many opposition politicians have sought asylum abroad. As many as 2 Million other civilians have also fled to neighbouring countries. 200 000 have perished, victims of the civil war.
Bachar al Assad's "New Syrian Constitution" mocks democracy. Also as President he has been accused of Human Rights Violations during the Civil War, but his friend Putin used his Veto to save him from any UNO "agression" ! One must not forget that Russia has a fleet of warships stationed in a Syrian Harbour !
Needless to say there will be no Election Debate on TV and it is doubtful that any international organisation will "observe" or monitor the actual voting !
Assad's "re-election" is assured. For the West his only redeeming feature is that he affirms he is fighting "al Quaïda" in Syria !
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