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Syria Announces a June Presidential Election Syrian Election Announced; Rebels Report New Weapons
(about 9 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria will conduct a presidential election on June 3, the government said on Monday in an announcement criticized by both the opposition and the United Nations as a new threat to prospects of reviving peace talks in the country’s civil war. The election will almost certainly award President Bashar al-Assad a new term, but not change the course of the conflict. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Although more than a third of Syria’s population has been displaced by war, the government said Monday that it would conduct a presidential election on June 3, an announcement denounced by the opposition as absurd and criticized by the United Nations as a new subversion of peace efforts.
The speaker of the country’s Parliament, Mohammad al-Laham, announced the date in a televised speech, calling the elections a constitutional requirement and saying that Syrians would choose their leader despite efforts by unnamed foreign actors to “distort and disrupt our path and our political and democratic choice.” The election, which almost certainly will award President Bashar al-Assad a new term, was announced as a rebel leader acknowledged that his group had received sophisticated American weapons to destroy Mr. Assad’s tanks.
Mr. Assad has yet to formally announce his candidacy, though everyone expects him to run and he has hinted in public remarks that he would seek another term. Election-style posters bearing his face have recently gone up in some government-controlled areas. The speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad al-Laham, announced the election date in a televised speech, calling the vote a constitutional requirement and saying Syrians would choose their leader despite efforts by unnamed foreign actors to “distort and disrupt our path and our political and democratic choice.”
State news media published images on Sunday of Mr. Assad visiting the ancient Christian town of Maaloula, which his forces recently seized from insurgents. Mr. Assad is seen dressed in a khaki suit, walking though a damaged church, shaking hands with soldiers and holding up pieces of a broken mosaic. Mr. Assad’s opponents dismissed the election as political theater, and even some of the president’s supporters have acknowledged that it will be difficult to hold an election during a civil war that has displaced nine million people and put significant parts of the country outside government control.
Recent changes to Syrian law have made it somewhat easier for relatively friendly candidates to run, while ensuring that prominent opposition figures are excluded. The Constitution adopted in 2012 requires that any candidate must have the written support of at least 35 members of Parliament, for example — probably unattainable for anyone who opposes the government. And a recent law disqualifies any candidate who has lived outside Syria in the past 10 years or who holds citizenship in any other nation, effectively excluding all members of the Syrian National Coalition, the internationally recognized opposition group. Mr. Assad has yet to formally announce his candidacy; however, everyone expects him to run, and he has hinted in public remarks that he would seek another term. State news media published images on Sunday of Mr. Assad visiting the ancient Christian town of Maaloula, which his forces recently seized from insurgents. Mr. Assad is seen dressed in a khaki suit, walking through a damaged church, shaking hands with soldiers and holding up pieces of a broken mosaic.
The group considers the election a farce, and none of its members are likely to participate anyway. Recent changes to Syrian law have made it somewhat easier for relatively friendly candidates to run, while ensuring that prominent opposition figures are excluded. The Constitution adopted in 2012 requires that any candidate have the written support of at least 35 members of Parliament, for example — probably unattainable for anyone who opposes the government. And a recent law disqualifies any candidate who has lived outside Syria in the past 10 years or who holds citizenship in any other nation, effectively excluding all members of the Syrian National Coalition, the internationally recognized opposition group.
No other candidates have stepped forward, either. Mr. Laham said in his speech that anyone who wanted to run could register at the high constitutional court during a 10-day period beginning on Tuesday. The group considers the election a farce, and none of its members are likely to participate.
Mr. Assad’s opponents have dismissed the election as political theater, and even some of the president’s supporters have acknowledged that it will be very difficult to hold an election during a civil war that has displaced one-third of Syria’s population and put significant parts of the country outside government control. While Mr. Laham made no mention of the 2.7 million registered Syrian refugees, he said Syrians who were outside the country could vote on May 28 at Syrian embassies.
While Mr. Laham made no mention of the 2.7 million registered Syrian refugees, he said Syrians who were outside the country could vote at Syrian embassies on May 28. The election announcement drew a sharp rebuke from the United Nations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said Mr. Ban and the special Syria envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, who has been seeking ways to revive peace talks between the government and the opposition, had repeatedly warned against such a step.
The election announcement drew a sharp rebuke from the United Nations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters that Mr. Ban and the special Syria envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, who has been seeking ways to revive peace talks between the government and the opposition, had repeatedly warned against such a step. Mr. Dujarric said an election would “damage the political process and hamper the prospects for a political solution that the country so urgently needs.” Although Mr. Assad’s forces, working with fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other Shiite militias, have solidified control over the capital, Damascus, and much of Syria’s center, they have been unable to dislodge rebels from many areas. Three mortar rounds struck near the Parliament building in Damascus on Monday, killing two people and wounding dozens, according to the state news agency, SANA.
Although Mr. Assad’s forces, working with fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other Shiite militias, have solidified control over the capital and much of the country’s center, they have been unable to dislodge rebels from many areas. Three mortar rounds struck near the Parliament building in Damascus on Monday, killing two people and wounding dozens more, according to the Syrian state news agency, SANA.
Videos posted online recently also suggest that certain rebels may be receiving small numbers of powerful new weapons.Videos posted online recently also suggest that certain rebels may be receiving small numbers of powerful new weapons.
A handful of recent videos have shown rebels from a group called the Hazm Movement firing American-made missiles at Syrian government tanks.A handful of recent videos have shown rebels from a group called the Hazm Movement firing American-made missiles at Syrian government tanks.
On Monday, the group posted a video of one of its fighters aiming but not firing a portable antiaircraft missile while a jet can be heard overhead. Hamza Shimali, one of the group’s leaders, acknowledged in a phone call that his group had received “modest numbers” of the new weapons from “friendly states,” including Western countries. “This is the first time we have received missiles like this from abroad,” Mr. Shimali said, adding that he had reason to believe the support would continue.
The rebels have long said they need antiaircraft weapons to defend against Mr. Assad’s jets, but the United States has opposed the move, fearing extremists could use the arms to down civilian airlines. On Monday, the group posted a video of one of its fighters aiming but not firing a Russian-made portable antiaircraft missile. But Mr. Shimali said that weapon had been captured inside Syria.
Mustafa Alani, an analyst with the Gulf Research Center, said the new arms appeared to represent a softening of the American position and could have been sent in to test the capabilities of certain groups to use them correctly. The rebels long have said they need antiaircraft weapons to defend against Mr. Assad’s jets, but the United States has opposed the move, fearing extremists could use the arms to down civilian airlines. Mustafa Alani, an analyst with the Gulf Research Center who has close ties with Persian Gulf officials, said the new antitank munitions appeared to represent a softening of the American position and could have been sent in to test the capabilities of certain groups to use them correctly.
But it remained unclear, he said, whether the new missiles were the first stage in a stepped-up arming campaign. Reflecting the role of Syria’s air force in the conflict, more than 60 people were killed on Sunday in Aleppo, many of them women and children, and most in government airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group with contacts inside Syria.
“The question is how many there are and whether it is a change in policy or just a change in policy for the camera,” he said. “We don’t know.”
Reflecting the role of Syria’s air force in the conflict, more than 60 people were killed in the northern province of Aleppo on Sunday, many of them women and children, and most in government airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group with a network of contacts inside Syria.