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Syria to hold presidential election in June Syria conflict: West criticises Assad election plan
(about 4 hours later)
The speaker of Syria's parliament has announced that the country will hold a presidential election on 3 June. The US has dismissed a Syrian plan to hold a presidential election on 3 June as a "parody of democracy".
Mohammed al-Lahham said candidates could register to run from Tuesday. UN chief Ban Ki-moon also condemned the plan, saying it could torpedo efforts to broker a deal to end the three-year civil war, which has killed 150,000.
Bashar al-Assad is expected to seek a third seven-year term, despite an uprising against his rule that has left an estimated 150,000 people dead and forced 9 million from their homes. Government forces have made gains recently, but rebels still control vast territories. It is unlikely that voting would be held in those areas.
The US and UK denounced the poll as lacking credibility, while opposition activists said they would boycott. President Bashar al-Assad is expected to seek a third seven-year term.
Multiple candidates The government recently framed an election law that stipulated all candidates must have lived in Syria for the past 10 years.
At a special session of the People's Assembly in Damascus, Mr Lahham said voting for Syrians living outside the country would take place at embassies on 28 May. Those resident in Syria would be able to cast their ballots from 09:00 to 19:00 on 3 June, he added. Most opposition leaders have fled the country, so are in effect barred from standing.
Mr Lahham did not say how the government planned to organise voting in contested areas or in the large swathes of the country that are controlled by the opposition. Opposition activist Ahmad Alqusair accused Mr Assad of "holding elections over the blood of Syrians" and said only the president's supporters would vote.
He also did not mention how they would deal with the more than 6 million people who have been displaced from their homes in the past three years, the 2.7 million refugees in neighbouring countries, or many expatriates living in countries where Syrian embassies have been closed since the uprising began in 2011. "If we are being blockaded from even eating bread, how can I vote," he told the Associated Press.
One government MP said there would be no voting in rebel-held areas, but no official announcement has yet been made.
The US, EU and UN were united in condemning the planned vote.
"Calling for a de-facto referendum rings especially hollow now as the regime continues to massacre the very electorate it purports to represent," said state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Mr Ban warned that it would "damage the political process and hamper the prospects for a political solution".
And both the EU and the US labelled it a "parody of democracy".
Parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Lahham announced the election, and said overseas Syrians would be able to vote from 28 May.
It is unclear how the government plans to organise voting in contested areas, or how the six million people who have fled their homes could register.
Also, more than 2.7 million Syrians are living as refugees in neighbouring countries, and many other expatriates live in countries where Syrian embassies have been closed since 2011.
The announcement came just hours after mortar shells exploded about 100m (320ft) from the parliament building in central Damascus, killing five people, according to state TV.The announcement came just hours after mortar shells exploded about 100m (320ft) from the parliament building in central Damascus, killing five people, according to state TV.
President Assad - who succeeded his father Hafez in 2000 and was re-elected in 2007, taking 98% of the vote in a referendum - has not said publicly whether he will stand. However, no-one doubts that he will seek a third term, says the BBC's Lyse Doucet in Damascus. Chemical attack claim
For the first time, there can be more than one name on the ballot, but no other Syrian is expected to be able or willing to come forth who could pose a real challenge to a leader who has already survived far longer than many expected, our correspondent adds. President Assad succeeded his father Hafez in 2000 and was re-elected in 2007, taking 98% of the vote in a referendum.
Amendments to the constitution approved in a widely-criticised referendum in 2012 mean that there can be multiple candidates. But they must have lived in Syria for the past 10 years and hold no other nationality, which effectively disqualifies key opposition figures in exile. He has not said publicly whether he will stand, however, no-one doubts that he will seek a third term, says the BBC's Lyse Doucet in Damascus.
British Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds said the plan could only be designed to sustain Mr Assad's "dictatorship", while a US state department spokesman Edgar Vasquez described it as a "parody of democracy". Amendments to the constitution approved in a widely criticised referendum in 2012 mean that there can be multiple candidates in the election.
Earlier this month, Western and Gulf countries that support the opposition dismissed any idea of a presidential vote in the midst of a civil war. But our correspondent says it is unlikely that anyone will seriously challenge Mr Assad.
The Friends of Syria said the government's "unilateral decision" was entirely inconsistent with the call for the establishment of a transitional governing body to oversee constitutional reforms, which was discussed at UN-backed peace talks in Geneva earlier this year. In a separate development, Ms Psaki also said that the US was investigating reports that a rebel-held area had been targeted with chemical weapons.
The UN and Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, warned in March that if there was an election, the opposition would probably not be interested in pursuing further peace talks with the government. French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday that he had "information" but no proof suggesting pro-Assad forces were still using chemical weapons.
In a separate development, French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday that he had "information" but no proof suggesting pro-Assad forces were still using chemical weapons. The government has agreed to complete its handover of chemical stockpiles by next Sunday.
It comes only days before a 27 April deadline for the government to have handed over all declared chemical agents to the joint mission led by the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Mr Assad agreed to the move after hundreds of people died in an attack outside Damascus last year.
Mr Assad agreed to the elimination of Syria's chemical arsenal by 30 June after hundreds of people died in an attack outside Damascus last year.