Syrian elections kick off in polls that predict victory for al-Assad

Presidential elections are underway in Syria. This time, in a context in which armed clashes have ceased to give way to the country's biggest economic crisis in 10 years. Victory predictions are clear: incumbent President Bashal al-Assad is expected to emerge once again as president, unseating his rivals, former state minister Abdullah Salloum and Syrian internal opposition leader Mahmoud Ahmad, both of whom have been accepted by the president.

Voting began as scheduled at 7 a.m. and the election is expected to have a strong turnout. Long lines of people waiting to vote have been seen on national television. Voters themselves will be able to exercise their right to vote at 12,000 polling stations that have been set up with the necessary facilities for the election day. They are expected to remain open until 7 p.m., unless there is an extension. On the other hand, the election results will be known 48 hours after the close of polling. 

If the predictions of the current president's victory are confirmed, it would be Bashar al-Assad's fourth term in office. In the last elections, held in 2014 in the midst of a civil war, al-Assad won a controversial victory with 88.7 per cent of the vote. On the other hand, of the 51 candidates to run in the elections, only three have been chosen and confirmed by the president himself; moreover, the opposition is in exile, which makes it difficult to exercise real rivalry against al-Assad. Along these lines, the opposition itself has called the elections illegitimate and undemocratic, as the Constitution requires candidates to have lived in Syria for the last ten years in order to stand for election, meaning that exiled opponents would not have the opportunity to take part in the electoral process. 

The Al-Asad family has been in power for 55 years. Bashar al-Asad took power in 2000 after the death of his father. At the beginning of his presidency, it appeared that al-Asad was beginning to pursue more social policies after implementing anti-corruption policies and releasing some prisoners imprisoned by his father. However, army figures began to join the new government and repressive actions against the opposition began to strain a population eager to see political change. Inspired by the eruption of the Arab Spring, what began as a peaceful uprising against the regime in March 2011 turned into one of the cruelest wars that our century has witnessed, with more than 388,000 deaths. 

The United States and the European Union have already opposed the holding of these elections and the Kurdish-dominated northeastern territorial regions are ignoring the vote, as is the last jihadist and rebel stronghold of Idlib, which has a population of three million.