Syrian peace talks resumed in Geneva on Wednesday as residents living in government-held areas went to the polls in parliamentary elections dismissed by the opposition and western backers as a sham.
State media showed a smiling Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Asma, voting near the presidential palace in Damascus. Crowds were filmed pouring into polling stations at the Hejaz railway station in the centre of the capital and close to the border with Lebanon to achieve what one TV correspondent called “constitutional stability”.
Voting was extended by five hours until midnight but is unlikely to produce any surprises in the 250-seat assembly or challenge the dominance of the Ba’ath party or loyal independents.
People in Aleppo chanted “Allah, Syria, Bashar – and that’s all we need” during a live broadcast from government-held parts of the city.
The anti-Assad opposition and the western and Arab countries which back it have dismissed the elections as a sham designed to demonstrate the sovereignty and independence of the Syrian state – even though large parts of the country are no longer under its control. Assad’s allies, Russia and Iran, have expressed their approval. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the parliamentary elections were intended to avoid a “legal vacuum” before a transition.
“There is an understanding already that a new constitution should emerge as a result of this political process, on the basis of which new, early elections are to be held. But before this happens, one should avoid any legal vacuum … These elections held today are designed to play this role of not allowing a legal vacuum.”
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry, Romain Nadal, said “France denounces this shame of an election organised by the regime … They are being held without campaigning, under the auspices of an oppressive regime and without international observation.”
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