It is not often an election candidate is shown posing for a photograph under the portrait of his main opponent. But then not every vote is like that for the next leader of Syria.
Two men have so far come forward to do what no man has done before: stand against Bashar al-Assad for the presidency.
El opositor Consejo Nacional Sirio (CNS) consideró hoy que las elecciones presidenciales sirias, convocadas para el próximo 3 de junio, suponen "un golpe devastador" a cualquier solución política al conflicto.
En un comunicado, el CNS hizo referencia a la conferencia de Ginebra "estancada en el fondo de lo desconocido, entre la vida y la muerte".
El grupo se refería a las negociaciones de paz que se celebraron entre enero y febrero entre el régimen y la oposición en Ginebra, y que concluyeron sin un acuerdo para volver a reunirse.
El secretario general de la Liga Arabe, Nabil el-Araby, condenó ayer la convocatoria de elecciones presidenciales en Siria y advirtió de que estos comicios perjudicarán los esfuerzos internacionales para superar el conflicto en un país que vive actualmente una «tragedia humanitaria». Las autoridades sirias anunciaron el lunes que los comicios tendrán lugar el próximo 3 de junio. Pese a que El-Asad todavía no ha confirmado su candidatura, su entorno y sus principales valedores internacionales dan por hecho que aspirará a un nuevo mandato.
Un diputado sirio miembro de la oposición autorizada por el régimen de Bashar al Assad se ha convertido este miércoles en la primera persona que presenta formalmente su candidatura a las elecciones presidenciales del próximo 3 de junio, a las que previsiblemente también concurrirá el actual mandatario.
El Tribunal Constitucional, responsable de supervisar el proceso, declaró el martes abierto el periodo de inscripciones. Los candidatos tienen hasta el 1 de mayo para postularse.
The European Union joined international condemnation of Syria's plan to hold a presidential election on June 3, saying Tuesday the vote would lack credibility while the country remains at war.
EU diplomatic chief Catherine Ashton "deeply regrets the official declaration by the Syrian authorities that presidential elections will be held in Syria on June 3", her spokesman said in a statement.
The US has dismissed a Syrian plan to hold a presidential election on 3 June as a "parody of democracy".
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.
Government forces have made gains recently, but rebels still control vast territories. It is unlikely that voting would be held in those areas.
President Bashar al-Assad is expected to seek a third seven-year term.
Syria will hold presidential elections on June 3, the country's parliament speaker announced Monday, a vote Syrian President Bashar Assad is likely to contest as his nation sinks deeper into a bloody civil war, now in its fourth year.
Assad has been widely expected to seek another seven-year term in office despite the uprising against his rule. The conflict that has engulfed the nation since March 2011 has killed over 150,000 people and forced one-third of the country's population from their homes.
Candidates for Syria's presidential election can begin registering on April 21, when the date for the vote will be announced, a government source told AFP on April 17.
On Monday April 21, the Council of the People (parliament) will meet to open registration for presidential candidates and set a date for the election," the source said.
Syria's government has insisted it will go ahead with presidential elections this year before the end of President Bashar al-Assad's term on July 17.
Syria's parliament will announce the date of the country's presidential election to be held this year despite the country's ongoing civil war, according to Agence France Presse Tuesday.
Syria's Al Watan newspaper stated that the speaker of the country's parliament Mohamed Jihad Lahham will announce the exact date of the vote which is expected to be held around June.
President Bashar Assad's seven-year term expires on July 17.
It is election season in Syria and, to listen to government officials, the tumult of revolution and war will soon be replaced by the certainty of democracy.
Since the coup that led Hafez al-Assad to power more than 40 years ago, presidential elections in Syria have never been a contest of wills. And so it will be when the dictator's son Bashar al-Assad goes to the polls within months, the sole meaningful candiatate to run a country ravaged by a crisis that shows little sign of slowing.
Istanbul’s bustling streets, where tourists typically flock to attractions like Taksim Square and Askaray, is now also hosting a plethora of prominent Syrian opposition figures, many of whom have the upcoming presidential election in Lebanon in mind.
Along the popular Independence Street, amid the appetizing aromas of Turkish kebabs wafting through the air, The Daily Star met with Syrian opposition figures Wael al-Khalidi, of the Syrian Relief Commission and blogger Hamza Bakir, both of whom stressed that Lebanon’s next president should not have ties to the Syrian regime.
Syria’s presidential campaign has kicked off in earnest with candidates able to submit their applications during the last 10 days of April, according to Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi.
The minister also insisted that the elections would proceed on time, despite a raging civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people.
“The door for candidacy will open in the last 10 days of this month,” state news agency SANA quoted Zoubi as saying in an interview with Al-Manar late Monday.
International powers who support the Syrian opposition have firmly rebuffed any idea of a presidential election organised by the Syrian government in the midst of a civil war, describing the plans as a "parody of democracy" that would kill peace talks.
The Friends of Syria, an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries, issued a statement on Thursday in light of recent developments in Syria, where there appears to be no end in sight after more than three years of conflict sparked by protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
International powers who support the Syrian opposition have firmly rebuffed any idea of a presidential election organised by the Syrian government in the midst of a civil war, describing the plans as a "parody of democracy" that would kill peace talks.
The Friends of Syria, an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries, issued a statement on Thursday in light of recent developments in Syria, where there appears to be no end in sight after more than three years of conflict sparked by protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
Syrian president Bashar Assad is quietly preparing the ground to hold elections early this summer, even as the Syrian conflict rampages into its fourth year with large parts of the country either in ruins or under opposition control.
Amid the destruction, which has left more than 140,000 dead, presidential elections may seem impossible. But Syrian officials insist they will be held on time.
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