Syrians vote for Assad in no-contest referendum
Afp, Damascus
Syrians were voting yesterday in a no-contest referendum to give President Bashar al-Assad another seven years at the helm, in the face of an opposition boycott and a crackdown on dissidents. With parliament unanimously approving the candidature of the 41-year-old Assad for a second term, and with vocal opponents of the regime locked up, the referendum will inevitably anoint him as president until 2014. While the authorities focused the campaign on stability in a region awash with bloodshed, the opposition, partly tolerated but with no legal status and unable to field candidates, said it was boycotting the referendum. "I voted yes, of course. I am voting for the stability of Syria, for security and for the achievements of the regime," said Ali Ahmad, a 23-year-old hotel employee. Another "yes" voter, Mohammed Ali Sharif, a 62-year-old pensioner, said "Syria has shown to the world it can resist in the face of foreign forces."
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