QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Residents in the city of Qamishli, northeast Syria, question the integrity of the presidential elections to be held tomorrow, Wednesday, believing that they are a formality for current president Bashar Assad to remain in power.
Food store owner Hamid Ahmed said, “these elections will not change anything in Syria as long as Bashar Assad remains in power for another term.”
“The two other candidates do not constitute any political or social weight to the extent that we do not really know them; their appearance as candidates is only an attempt to legitimize the elections ostensibly,” he added.
Two candidates are running for the presidency alongside al-Assad, namely Abdullah Salloum Abdullah, former Minister of State, and lawyer Mahmoud Merei.
One of the conditions of running for elections is that the candidate should have continuously lived in Syria during the past ten years, which prevents opposition figures residing abroad from running in elections.
Most Syrians believe that the current president Bashar Assad, who has remained in power for more than 21 years, is unlikely to face any serious competition in the elections.
On Monday, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) refused to participate in the presidential elections after Damascus requested to conduct them in the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria’s (AANES) areas.
The SDC said in a statement that it is not concerned with any elections that “do not fulfill the goals of the Syrians, their rights, and political presence.”
“There will be no elections before the political solution in accordance with the international resolutions, the release of detainees, the return of the displaced, and establishment of new foundations for a political structure free of tyranny,” the statement added.
On Sunday, Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal Mekdad called on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to allow presidential elections in their areas and participate in them, “if it is democratic and of Syrian spirit.”
Mekdad’s speech came during a press conference while he was delivering the results of the voting in Syrian embassies to the Ministry of Justice, and was reported by several pro-government media outlets.
However, SDC’s statement indicated that it will not be a facilitator for any elections that contradict UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
Who are they laughing at?
Qamishli resident Molhim Rasheed does not see any serious competition in the presidential elections, which he believes are only a formality for Assad to remain in power.
“Each time we hear there are presidential elections, ballot boxes, and candidates, but we have found that the situation remains the same without any change in power or in the regime,” he added.
“Who is the Syrian regime laughing at? Does it trick us into believing its never ending lies? There is no hope as long as the regime still stands,” he wondered.
The Syrian Supreme Judicial Committee for Elections stated that “electoral silence” starts Tuesday morning, when all forms of the election campaign for the candidates stop and the elections will take place on May 26.
These elections are the second to be held during the Syrian war which torn the country and has continued for more than ten years. The last presidential election process took place in 2014.
In April, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric stated that the upcoming presidential elections in Syria are not part of the political process stipulated in UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
Many Western countries consider the Syrian elections a farce aimed at granting Assad legitimacy.
“I do not care”
On Wednesday, presidential elections will take place at a time Syria is witnessing a stifling economic crisis that has worsened due to the sanctions imposed on the country amid the deteriorating living conditions and residents’ weak purchasing power.
Syria was 101st on a list of 113 countries suffering from food insecurity in 2020, according to the Economic Information Unit of the Economist newspaper.
About 12.4 million people in Syria suffer from food insecurity, according to an assessment of food insecurity which was conducted in late 2020 by the World Food Programme.
Statistics show that the Syrian war has killed half a million people and destroyed the country’s infrastructure; in addition, it has displaced nearly half of its citizens.
Qamishli resident Mahmoud al-Sayed believes that the results of the elections are previously decided and there is no need to vote. “I will not participate in the vote and I do not care who the president will be,” he says.
“The prices are high and the economic situation is very bad, all because of Assad’s stay in power,” he added.
He says, “If they had really intended to remove Assad from power, they would not have allowed this war in the first place, which killed innocent people, displaced millions, and destroyed the country.”