Holding an election in Syria while civil war rages will only obstruct international efforts to resolve the conflict, the head of the Arab League said on Tuesday. President Bashar al-Assad’s government announced on Monday that a presidential election would take place on June 3 – an event that is certain to extend his grip on power. “This step could suspend the desired efforts of maturing negotiations for a political solution to the Syrian crisis,” Nabil el-Araby, the head of the Cairo-based Arab League, said in a statement.
Western and Gulf Arab countries that back rebels fighting to topple Assad have criticized the decision to hold elections, calling it a “parody of democracy” that would wreck efforts to negotiate a peace settlement.
U.N. and Arab League-backed talks in Geneva collapsed in February with both sides far from agreement on any issue including the fate of Assad, whose family has ruled for more than four decades.
Full Article: Arab League criticizes Syrian election plan | Reuters.
