Voting starts slowly in Syria
Monday, April 23, 2007
VOTING for Syria's new parliament began slowly yesterday, amid widespread reports of lack of enthusiasm in a poll which opposition activists have urged supporters to boycott.
Only a trickle of voters could be seen heading to polling booths, especially in Damascus and on its outskirts.
In Sabaa Bahrat square in the heart of the capital, young activists lobbying on behalf of their particular candidate outnumbered voters.
The same scene was repeated in the western district of Jdaidet Artuz and the southern Jaramana suburb, where one polling station official told AFP: "It's still early. Voting lasts for two days."
Nearly 12 million Syrians are eligible to vote, according to the official Sana news agency, which also reported that 2,500 candidates were standing for the 250 seats in the assembly.
Last week, commenting on the poll, the official daily Tishrin said: "Except for the candidates, their relatives and those who will profit from this commercial festival, (Syrians) have lost their enthusiasm for the parliamentary elections."
Interior Minister Bassam Abdel-Majid, in a statement on state television, urged Syrians to turn out in force: "Your participation is a contribution to consolidating democracy and activating the role of parliament in drawing up decisions," he said.
In a swipe at Washington which had said Syria's election was unlikely to be free and fair, an official Syrian newspaper said Damascus had never needed "democratic" advice from abroad.
As-Saoura said it was the United States which fought against democracy, recalling its refusal to accept the democratic Palestinian election which resulted in a Hamas government, and later the creation of a national unity government headed by Hamas.
Washington and the European Union view Hamas as a terrorist body and froze aid to the government.
"We do not know who has mandated you (the US) so that you presume to be judges of democracy in the world," it said, pointing to the invasion of Iraq, the US-controlled Abu Ghraib prison there and Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
Syria's two-day election is the second since President Bashar al-Assad came to power in July 2000.
Of the 250 seats, 167 are reserved for the ruling National Progressive Front (NPF) coalition, led by Assad's Baath party.AFP
Only a trickle of voters could be seen heading to polling booths, especially in Damascus and on its outskirts.
In Sabaa Bahrat square in the heart of the capital, young activists lobbying on behalf of their particular candidate outnumbered voters.
The same scene was repeated in the western district of Jdaidet Artuz and the southern Jaramana suburb, where one polling station official told AFP: "It's still early. Voting lasts for two days."
Nearly 12 million Syrians are eligible to vote, according to the official Sana news agency, which also reported that 2,500 candidates were standing for the 250 seats in the assembly.
Last week, commenting on the poll, the official daily Tishrin said: "Except for the candidates, their relatives and those who will profit from this commercial festival, (Syrians) have lost their enthusiasm for the parliamentary elections."
Interior Minister Bassam Abdel-Majid, in a statement on state television, urged Syrians to turn out in force: "Your participation is a contribution to consolidating democracy and activating the role of parliament in drawing up decisions," he said.
In a swipe at Washington which had said Syria's election was unlikely to be free and fair, an official Syrian newspaper said Damascus had never needed "democratic" advice from abroad.
As-Saoura said it was the United States which fought against democracy, recalling its refusal to accept the democratic Palestinian election which resulted in a Hamas government, and later the creation of a national unity government headed by Hamas.
Washington and the European Union view Hamas as a terrorist body and froze aid to the government.
"We do not know who has mandated you (the US) so that you presume to be judges of democracy in the world," it said, pointing to the invasion of Iraq, the US-controlled Abu Ghraib prison there and Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
Syria's two-day election is the second since President Bashar al-Assad came to power in July 2000.
Of the 250 seats, 167 are reserved for the ruling National Progressive Front (NPF) coalition, led by Assad's Baath party.AFP
Business Besides Oil
