Presidential elections were held in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

on 26 May 2021, with expatriates able to vote in some embassies abroad on 20 May. The three candidates were incumbent president

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

Mahmoud Ahmad Marei Mahmoud Ahmad Marei (; born 1957) is a Syrian politician, lawyer, current head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, and former secretary-general of the National Democratic Front, a small, opposition party. Biography Marei was born in Talfit ...

and Abdullah Sallum Abdullah. The elections were considered not to be free and fair. Prior to the elections, several countries and intergovernmental organisations expressed concerns about the fairness and legitimacy of the election, and stated they would not recognize the results. In what was considered by some international observers to be a foregone conclusion and by many as an "empty election" marked by

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

, the result was a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...

for Assad, who won over 95% of the vote. Officials said 78.6% of voters took part, but in the context of the ongoing

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and subsequent

population displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, ...

, this figure has been questioned. The government claimed over 18,000,000 "eligible" voters, but because ballots were only offered in areas under government control, only just over 10,000,000 were actually able to vote, while, according to the official results, Assad won over 13,000,000 votes. Technically meaning a voter turnout of 130%. However, many observers and analysts noted that these numbers exceeded the possible number of adult voters in government-held areas of the country. President al-Assad was sworn-in for his fourth term (2021–2028) on 17 July 2021 at the Presidential Palace. Per Chapter 3, Article 88 of the

Syrian Constitution The current Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic was adopted on 26 February 2012, replacing one that had been in force since 13 March 1973. The current constitution delineates the basic function of that state's government. Among other things, ...

, which only allows for a maximum of one re-election, al-Assad will be ineligible to run for another term in 2028.

Background

, the 19th

President of Syria The president of Syria, officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: رئيس سوريا) is the head of state of the Syrian Arab Republic. They are vested with sweeping powers that may be delegated, at their sole discretion, to ...

, took power in a referendum in 2000 following the death of his father

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 1 ...

, who had ruled Syria for 30 years. Assad also inherited the role of leader of the ruling party: the Regional Secretary of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He received 97.29% and 97.6% support, respectively, in the uncontested and undemocratic 2000 and

2007 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2007. * Electoral calendar 2007 * Elections in 2007 * 2007 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 52nd National Conference of the African National Congress * 2007 Algerian legislative el ...

."Syria's opposition boycotts vote on Assad"
Reuters. 18 May 2007. On 16 July 2014, Assad was sworn in for another seven-year term after another non-democratic, but this time multi-candidate, election where he received 88.7% of the vote. The election was held only in areas controlled by the Syrian government during the country's ongoing civil war and was criticised by the UN. The 2021 election takes place as the Syrian civil war enters the eleventh year of conflict and as a result the country still remains divided among various factions. The pre-war citizen population was over 21 million. As of 2020, Syria remains the largest source country of

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

with 6.6 million refugees having fled the nation since the start of the conflict. Additionally, seven million Syrians are

internally displaced An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. A ...

, including 4.4 million in

rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; s ...

-held territory, and two to four million) live in the Kurdish-ruled

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, M ...

- see

Demographics of Syria Syria's estimated pre– Syrian Civil War 2011 population was 22 ±.5 million permanent inhabitants, which included 21,124,000 Syrians, as well as 1.3 million Iraqi refugees and over 500,000 Palestinians refugees. The election is held only in government-held territory. According to

TRT World TRT World is a Turkish public broadcaster international news channel which broadcasts in English 24 hours a day, operated by the TRT and based in Taksim Square, Istıklal Avenue, Beyoğlu, Istanbul. It provides worldwide news and current affair ...

, 5-6 million adults live in areas under government control, while the

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...

(SOHR) estimates 10.9 million adults and children. According to SOHR, only five million people participated in the election, some coerced into doing so. Interior minister

Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun ( ar, مُحَمَّد خَالِد الرَّحْمُون, born 1957) is a former military commander, the current Syrian Minister of the Interior. See also *Cabinet of Syria *Law enforcement in Syria Law enforcemen ...

said that 18 million Syrians are eligible to vote. The vote took place despite a 2015

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

resolution calling for a new constitution ahead of elections. Analysts said the elections were held so that the government and its backer Russia could claim victory in the war, to rehabilitate the country's reputation with the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

, and to demonstrate that Syria is a safe country for refugees to return to. Four hundred civil servants, judges, lawyers and journalists detained in a crackdown early in the year on social media dissent under

cybercrime A cybercrime is a crime that involves a computer or a computer network.Moore, R. (2005) "Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime," Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing. The computer may have been used in committing the ...

laws were granted an amnesty on May in advance of the election, along with thousands freed under a general amnesty for currency speculators, drug dealers, smugglers and kidnappers. Most of the freed critics were on the government side in the Civil War, and the amnesty excluded tens of thousands of Assad political detainees. The election was also held in the context of a severe economic crisis. The government took a series of steps in the weeks before the vote to influence public opinion, including attempts to reduce

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

and to extend government grants to state employees in areas experiencing economic hardship.

Electoral system

The

Constitution of Syria The current Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic was adopted on 26 February 2012, replacing one that had been in force since 13 March 1973. The current constitution delineates the basic function of that state's government. Among other things ...

approved in 2012 states that: "Voters shall be the citizens who have completed eighteen years of age and met the conditions stipulated in the Election Law." (Article 59) The Election Law shall include the provisions that ensure: (Article 61) # The freedom of voters to choose their representatives and the safety and integrity of the electoral procedures. # The right of candidates to supervise the electoral process. # Punishing those who abuse the will of the voters.

Selection of candidates

The

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

People's Assembly of Syria The People's Assembly ( ar, مَجْلِس الشَّعْب, ) is Syria's legislative authority. It has 250 members elected for a four-year term in 15 multi-seat constituencies. There are two main political fronts; the National Progressive Fron ...

, Hammouda Sabbagh (

Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...

), announced the commencement of candidacy for Presidential elections, starting from Monday 19 April. In his speech at the first session of the second extraordinary round of the People’s Assembly, Sabbagh called on those who wish to run to submit their candidacy applications to the Supreme Constitutional Court within a period of 10 days until Wednesday 28 April.

Requirements for a presidential candidate

According to Law No. 5 of the year 2014 of the general elections code, The 5th chapter - article No. 30, the candidate for the post of President of the Syrian Arab Republic must: * have reached the age of 40 years. * have Syrian Arab nationality by birth. * have all their civil and political rights and not be convicted of despicable crime. * not be married to a foreigner. * be resident in Syrian territories for no less than 10 consecutive years when standing for election. * not have a nationality (citizenship) other than that of the Syrian Arab Republic. * not to be deprived of their right to vote. Further eligibility requirements in the Constitution include: * The religion of the President is Islam (Article 3) * The President cannot carry another nationality (Article 152) The requirement for candidates to be backed by 35 members of parliament gives power to the ruling National Progressive Front, which dominates the assembly, and the requirement to have lived continuously in Syria for the past 10 years excludes opposition figures in exile.

Polling

Candidates

On 3 May, the Syrian Supreme Constitutional Court announced that three candidates had been accepted, with the others rejected for not meeting the constitutional and legal conditions: *

, incumbent president of Syria (2000–present) and

candidate (

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

) * Mahmoud Ahmed Marei, lawyer, born 1957, head of the

Arab Organization for Human Rights The Arab Organization for Human Rights ( ar, المنظمة العربية لحقوق الإنسان) is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that works on human rights issues in the Arab World. It was founded with a resolution agreed on in Hamm ...

and former secretary-general of the

National Front for the Liberation of Syria The National Front for the Liberation of Syria ( ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير سوريا) is a Syrian opposition, Syrian rebel alliance formed in southwestern Syria. It was formed by 11 rebel groups on 22 July 2017 as a "unified n ...

. He is former President of the Youth Office at the

National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change The National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC), or National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) ( ar, هيئة التنسيق الوطنية لقوى التغيير الديمقراطي ), is a Syrian bloc chaired by ...

, member of the internal opposition delegation to the

Geneva peace talks on Syria (2017) The Geneva peace talks on Syria in 2017, also called the Geneva IV, V, VI, VII, & VIII talks, were peace negotiations between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition under the auspices of the United Nations. The Geneva IV talks took pla ...

Democratic Arab Socialist Union The Democratic Arab Socialist Union ( ar, الاتحاد الاشتراكي العربي الديمقراطي, ''Al-ittiḥād al-ishtirākī al-'arabī al-dīmūqrāṭī''; French: ''Union arabe socialiste démocratique'') is a Nasserist democ ...

Party (

NCC NCC may refer to: Biology *Neural correlates of consciousness, neuronal events and mechanisms relating to perception phenomena *Sodium-chloride symporter, abbreviated as NCC Companies *National Certification Corporation, a nursing specialty cer ...

) candidate (Damascus) * Abdullah Sallum Abdullah, born 1956, former state minister for People's Assembly Affairs, former MP and

Socialist Unionists The Socialist Unionist Party ( ar, حزب الوحدويين الاشتراكيين ''Al-Wahdawiyyun Al-Ishtirakiyyun'') is a leftist Nasserist political party in Syria. The party was founded in 1962 through a split in the Ba'ath Party. It is part ...

Party candidate (

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

) According to the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', "Few consider former state minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmoud Merhi, a member of the so-called "tolerated opposition", serious contenders."

Unsuccessful candidates

Candidates reported to have put themselves forward included: *

Jamal Suliman Jamal Suliman ( ar, جمال سليمان) is a Syrian producer, director and actor of television, film, and stage. Suliman was born in 1959 in the Syrian capital of Damascus, then part of the United Arab Republic. Suliman studied at the acting ...

, actor and

Syria's Tomorrow Movement The Syria's Tomorrow Movement ( ar, تيار الغد السوري) is a Syrian opposition party founded in March 2016 in Cairo by Ahmad Jarba, a Syrian National Council member. The party is backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and coope ...

candidate * Mohamad Muafaq Sawan, leader of the Democratic Unionist Reform Party (Damascus) * Faten Ali Nahar, 50-year old independent lawyer (

Quneitra , ''Qunayṭrawi'' or ''Qunayṭirawi'' , population_density_metro_sq_mi = , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = , population_bla ...

) * Mohamad Firas Yassin Rajouh, engineer, activist, and a businessman, independent (Damascus) * Mohamad Nadim Sha'ban, independent (Damascus)

Campaign

* On 15 May, Mahmoud Ahmed Marei launched his campaign with the main goals: 1. "Together to release prisoners of conscience", 2. "Together for a participatory Government of National Unity with a real representation of the Opposition"'. At the same time, his pre-election page on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and other social networks was launched. His pre-election spot was broadcast on

Sama TV Sama TV ( ar, قناة سما الفضائية, lit=Sky) is a television station based in Damascus, Syria since September 7, 2012. Sama TV is a sister channel of defunct Addounia TV. Programs Sama TV features a variety of general-interest program ...

Syria TV Syria TV ( ar, القناة الفضائية السورية), also known as Syrian Satellite Channel, is a satellite television channel a nationwide public broadcasting, state-funded by the Syrian General Organization of Radio and TV and broadc ...

and

Syrian News Channel Syrian News Channel ( ar, الإخبارية السورية), also known as alikhbaria Syria or Al-Ikhbariyah Syria, is a state-run television station based in Damascus, Syria, launched in December 15, 2010. The channel is headed by Imad Sara. S ...

. On 16 May, the candidate gave an hour-long interviews to Syria TV, Syrian News Channel and Sama TV. He also gave an interview to Al-Watan newspaper. According to the

Daily Sabah The ''Daily Sabah'' (lit. "Daily Morning") is a Turkish pro-government daily, published in Turkey. Available in English, Arabic, and owned by Turkuvaz Media Group, ''Daily Sabah'' published its first issue on 24 February 2014. The editor-in-chief ...

, Marei described his campaign as modest, as it had no financial support apart from his own resources and that of internal opposition parties. * On 15 May, the Al-Assad's campaign was launched with the slogan: "Hope is with work". His other main motto is: Together we challenge. The campaign has its pages on Facebook,

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and others. Like other campaigns, this one has its spots on Sama TV, Syria TV and the Syrian News Channel. * On 15 May, Abdullah Sallum Abdullah's campaign with slogans: 1. '"Our strength in our unity" 2."Strengthening the role of the NPF and reactivating the role of the parties affiliated with it", was launched with a campaign page on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. The candidate's pre-election spots were also broadcast on Sama TV, Syria TV and Syrian News Channel. He promised to combat corruption. On 17 May, he gave an interview on the Syrian News Channel in which called on all the Syrians to nationally unite to confront any problem or danger that threaten their country. He further reminded that it is necessary to enable and subsequently implement the return of all refugees back to the republic and to have suitable conditions for living in the country. Then noted the need to end the war, the occupation of the United States,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and Israel. And finally he promised to protect national interests, economic development and the fight against corruption. * On 16 May, an election campaign was launched across the country with billboards, giant posters of the president and leaflets. Large rallies in support of the president were organised by government officials, often with coerced participation, as well as dinners and dances organised by citizens to ingratiate themselves with the governing party. In

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

-majority

Sweida , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , coordinates = , grid_position = 296/235 ...

in south-west Syria, election billboards were torn and splashed with red paint within hours.

Elections

Prior to the elections, a Supreme Electoral Committee was formed.

Expatriates

Expatriate voting occurred on 20 May in countries where it was allowed. One requirement for voting is a valid Syrian passport with an exit stamp issued by an official border crossing, which excludes many who fled the war. The

Embassy of Syria in Kuala Lumpur The Syrian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is the official diplomatic mission to represent the Syrian Arab Republic in Malaysia. It provides the consulate services to all Syrian citizens and those equivalents including who are in Thailand, Singapore, Phili ...

was the first embassy that started the election process. The following countries have allowed Syrian citizens to vote: The following eight countries did not allow expatriate voting to be held in the Syrian diplomatic missions: In Lebanon, thousands were bussed to the embassy outside

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

to vote. Lebanese security forces struggled to control the crowd. Many voters carried portraits of Assad and chanted pro-Assad slogans, and the embassy played pro-Assad music. There were violent attacks on Syrian voters by Lebanese people. It was estimated that 50,000 of the 1.2 million Syrians in Lebanon voted. Only a few hundred out of the 1.3 million Syrians in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

voted in the presidential election. According to the state news agency, on 23 May, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates,

Faisal Mekdad Faisal Mekdad ( ar, فيصل المقداد; born 1954) is the Syrian Foreign Minister and former Permanent Envoy to the United Nations. Life and education Faisal Mekdad was born in the village of Ghasm in Daraa Governorate in 1954. He graduate ...

, handed over the results of counting the votes of the Syrian voters residing abroad to the Minister of Justice, Ahmed Al-Sayed, and to the Supreme Judicial Committee for Elections. He described the vote as peaceful and democratic, with the exception of Lebanon, and some Western states, where some voters were prevented from participating, and stated that these results would be included in the total and published together with them.

In Syria

The elections were held in the country on 26 May, from 7 am to 7 pm, later extended until 12 am. Banners of the incumbent president were hung on the 12,000 polling stations across the country. Although the government reported that 14 million citizens voted, SOHR estimated the real number was closer to five million. President Assad publicly cast his ballot in the former rebel stronghold of Douma, site of a suspected chemical weapons attack by his forces in 2018. The elections were not held in the predominantly

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

, apart from ballot boxes in military zones controlled by the government in

Hasakah Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة, al-Ḥasaka; ku, Heseke/حەسەکە; syr, ܚܣܝܟܐ Hasake), is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2004 census population of 188,160, it is the ei ...

and

Qamishli Qamishli ( ar, ٱلْقَامِشْلِي, Al-Qāmišlī, ku, قامشلۆ, Qamişlo, syc, ܒܝܬ ܙܠܝ̈ܢ, Bēṯ Zālīn, lit=House of Reeds or syr, ܩܡܫܠܐ, translit=Qamishlo)

, or in the opposition-held Northwest, which together make up a third of the country. Authorities in the Autonomous Administration closed the border to all vehicles except ambulances to prevent residents from travelling to government areas to vote. According to the ''

'', tribes in

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jordan ...

, in Syria's south, also declared the election illegitimate, and hundreds of people there protested against the vote. Video footage showed polling officials casting votes on citizens' behalf before handing back ID cards. A student in Damascus told

Al-Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

that “Some universities will fail or even expel you if you don’t vote" and state employees were instructed to vote by the security apparatus. Many voters pricked their fingers to sign their support for Assad in blood. Pro-government shabiha militias controlled the process in voting centers. Ibrahim al Jibawi, opposition representative in the Constitutional Committee in Geneva, declared that there were militia members that voted more than once. Protests were held against the elections in

, where in response polling stations were reportedly shut down, and

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International observers

According to the state news agency, the People's Assembly voted to invite representatives of the parliaments of the following countries to monitor and supervise the electoral process:

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

, Russia,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, China,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. Observers from Belarus arrived on 23 May. Russian observers were shown on Syrian state TV station

SANA Sana may refer to: Places * Sanaa, the capital of Yemen * Sana (river), a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Sana, Bhutan, a town in Bhutan * Sana, Haute-Garonne, a commune in France * Sana, Iran, a village in Iran * Sana, Mali, a commune in M ...

, watching voters casting ballots without any privacy.

Results

Reactions

Pre-election

Syrian opposition

* The

National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية), commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) ( ar, الائتلاف الو ...

said that the elections are "illegal and a farce". The

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al- Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil national syrien), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syri ...

said “The only acceptable election in Syria is the one in which the war criminal Bashar al-Assad will not participate."

Hadi al-Bahra Hadi al-Bahra ( ar, هادي البحرة, born in Damascus on February 13, 1959) is a member of the Syrian opposition movement who was the President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from 9 July 2014 until ...

, co-chair of the

Syrian Constitutional Committee The Syrian Constitutional Committee is a United Nations-facilitated constituent assembly process that seeks to reconcile the Syrian Government headed by President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition, in the context of the Syrian peace ...

, called the elections "illegal": "Currently there is no safe and neutral environment that enables all Syrians ..to exercise their right in casting their vote." The

Kurdish National Council The Kurdish National Council (KNC, , ENKS; ar, المجلس الوطني الكوردي ''al-Majlis al-Waṭaniyy Al-Kurdi'') is a Syrian Kurdish political party. While the KNC had initially more international support than the ruling Democra ...

, which is part of the Turkey-based opposition, rejected the elections. Opposition groups and tribal leaders across government-occupied

called for a boycott of the vote, describing it as a poorly made farce, with poor acting, and poor direction,” and demanded the implementation of

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 was unanimously adopted on 18 December 2015. It calls for a ceasefire and political settlement in Syria. This document describe the roadmap for Syria's political transition. As of 2022, no real p ...

before any poll. * The

rejected the legitimacy of the elections and distanced itself from Mahmoud Ahmad Marei, saying he had been expelled from the party in 2013. * The

Syrian Democratic Council The Syrian Democratic Council ( ku, Meclîsa Sûriya Demokratîk, MSD; ar, مجلس سوريا الديمقراطية; syc, ܡܘܬܒܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܛܝܬܐ, translit=Mawtbo d'Suriya Demoqraṭoyto) is the political wing of the Syri ...

(SDC), which controls northeastern Syria, stated “We will not be part of the presidential election process and we will not participate in it.”

Intergovernmental organisations

* The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

has said that the elections are not part of the

Syrian peace process The Syrian peace process is the ensemble of initiatives and plans to resolve the Syrian civil war, which has been ongoing in Syria since 2011 and has Spillover of the Syrian Civil War, spilled beyond its borders. The peace process has been modera ...

and that it is not involved in it.

Other states

* France said it opposed the elections in the absence of a credible political solution: "The presidential election scheduled this year will be neither free nor legitimate. It cannot be used as a tool to circumvent this political solution." * The United States indicated that it will not recognize the outcome of the elections unless the voting is "free, fair, supervised by the United Nations, and represents all of Syrian society." The State Department said “The proposed Syrian presidential election this year will neither be free nor fair. In this environment, we do not assess this call for elections to be credible.” * On election day, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States stated that they do not consider the elections free or fair. "We denounce the Assad regime's decision to hold an election outside of the framework described in

and we support the voices of all Syrians, including civil society organisations and the Syrian opposition, who have condemned the electoral process as illegitimate." Assad responded by stating that Syria would disregard this statement: the “value of those opinions is zero". *

said the elections were not legitimate, emphasising that they deprive almost 7 million Syrians in the diaspora of suffrage. * Egypt's Foreign Minister

Sameh Shoukry Sameh Hassan Shoukry ( ar, سامح شكري; born 20 October 1952) is an Egyptian diplomat who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt since 2014. Previously, Shoukry served as the Ambassador of Egypt to the United States from 2008 to 2 ...

said that the vote would allow the Syrian people to “choose their future" and "form a government that represents them.”

Post-election

Syrian opposition

* The

Syrian Negotiation Commission Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

said that the election showed "contempt to the Syrian people": "It's a decision by the government, aided by Russia and Iran, to kill the political process... It's a continuation of tyranny." The

described the poll as a "theatrical play".

Intergovernmental

*The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

said the elections met none of the criteria of “a genuinely democratic vote”, as internally displaced people, refugees and members of the diaspora were unable to participate in a safe and neutral environment without threat of intimidation.

Other states

*Russia said "A decisive victory was won by the incumbent head of state... We view the elections as a sovereign affair of the Syrian Arab Republic and an important step towards strengthening its internal stability." *

ian president

Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luka ...

congratulated Assad on his victory saying that "...winning the presidential election is an evidence of recognition of the President al-Assad ‘s national role as a national leader who confidently defends his country against foreign interference, and fights for peace and stability in Syria." *

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n president of the State Affairs of the DPRK

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

congratulated Assad on his victory ''through the election the Syrian government and people demonstrated at home and abroad their will to resolutely frustrate the ceaseless aggression and obstructive moves and threats by the imperialists and all sorts of other hostile forces and firmly defend the sovereignty and security of the country under the leadership of Bashar Al-Assad", with hopes of future cooperation between the two countries.

Notes

References

External links

''Joint Statement by the Secretary of State of the United States of America, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, and the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, and Italy ''
US State Department (25 May 2021) {{Syrian Civil War

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

2021 in the Syrian civil war

Presidential elections in Syria 2020s in Syrian politics