DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – The upcoming presidential elections in Syria occupy a large space in the discussion of notables from Damascus, who meet secretly due to security fears.
Several days ago, North Press attended a dialogue session held between three jurists in Damascus about the presidential elections.
The lawyers considered the presidential elections to be held in the coming months to be “illegitimate, and do not reflect the will of Syrians.”
On the verge of an explosion
Raghib al-Hamidi (a pseudonym), a lawyer residing in Damascus, considers the internal situation in Syria, “unable to handle another win of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the elections.”
“The situation in Syria is on the verge of an explosion,” al-Hamidi said.
“I do not believe that the regime will manage to hold elections smoothly and repeat the same scenario; something will happen and flip the equation,” he added.
The Syrian government’s efforts to hold elections have met with American and European rejection.
On March 16, the US Secretary of State and the ministers of foreign affairs of France, Germany, Italy, and the UK made a joint statement to boycott the presidential elections.
This came after the UN Security Council held a session about Syria.
During the session, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “these elections will neither be free nor fair, and will not legitimize the Assad regime.”
Absence of a powerful alternative
Lawyer Sameer al-Khalidi (a pseudonym) described al-Hamidi’s words as “emotional.”
“[There are] no indications of an international intention to overthrow Assad, so it is not unlikely that the regime will hold the elections on time,” he said.
“It is not unlikely that Assad will win the elections and this situation continues for an undetermined period,” he added.
Al-Khalidi supports his opinion of what he described as the dilemma of the absence of a powerful alternative to replace Assad by referencing the weakness of the external opposition.
“Had there been strong opposition, the international community would have toppled Assad a long time ago, but with the absence of an alternative, the situation will remain as it is now,” he referred.
Al-Hamidi described holding the elections in the current circumstances as a “challenge” for the international will, which rejects these elections; it is what al-Khalidi described as “having no unified international will and vision on Syria.”
Reproduction of the regime
Lawyer Ahmed al-Jassim (a pseudonym) said, “the continued ruling of Assad is in Russia’s interests; thus it will continue to reproduce this regime.”
“It is possible that Syria will witness some changes ahead of the elections, such as the participation of some figures affiliated with the opposition in the new government that is being formed,” he added.
The difference between the upcoming elections and the previous one in 2014 is that the regime has lost its popular base to a large extent due to its inability to provide basics to the people, according to al-Jassim.
“The elections will witness bickering that may turn into violent attacks, especially in the Syrian coastal area in which Assad sacrificed its citizens and left them suffering, poverty, and famine,” he pointed out.
Al-Hamidi agreed with al-Jassim that “Assad has nothing new to present to the citizens.”
Assad loyalists believe they will receive privileges at the end of the war “and secure themselves housing and jobs with a good salary.”
“Assad could have won the war, but he lost his popular base,” al-Hamidi stated.
Al-Khalidi believes that the elections will pass “without any perceptible change.”
With the clock ticking until the elections, Russia is trying to create a stable environment away from tensions amid the popular base in government-held areas.
Observers believe that the presidential elections, although perhaps already “decided on” as in 2014, in favor of Assad, Moscow’s moves are not only to gain voices but to show that government-held areas ‘fully support Assad.’”
“Even though all know the illegitimacy of these elections, which will witness weak turnout, even of the loyalists, they will be as the previous one and will not change the situation,” he declared.