Syrians in government-controlled areas headed to polling stations Wednesday to elect a new 250-member parliament that is expected to serve as a rubber stamp for President Bashar al-Assad. Shortly after the stations opened at 7 a.m., people began turning up. Around 3,500 government-approved candidates are competing after more than 7,000 others dropped out. Parliament elections in Syria are held every four years, and Damascus says the vote is constitutional and separate from the peace talks in Geneva aimed at ending the war. But the opposition says it contributes to an unfavourable climate for negotiations amid fierce fighting that threatens an increasingly tenuous cease-fire engineered by the United States and Russia.
Western leaders and members of the opposition have denounced the process as a sham and a provocation that undermines the Geneva peace talks. In the Syrian capital, voters said they fully supported holding the elections on time.
“I feel proud today because the elections are a national and democratic duty any honest citizen should practice,” said Wahid Chahine, a 54-year-old government employee, after casting his ballot at a Damascus polling station.
He said the voting is constitutional and should not be postponed, despite millions of other Syrians being unable to take part. “I hope in the next elections all Syrians will be able to vote and that Syria would be free from all terrorists,” he added.
Full Article: Syria holds parliamentary elections despite widespread criticism – World – CBC News.