How is Syrian Presidential Election Game-Changing?

Alwaght- The second Syrian presidential election since the 2011 crisis was held while people massively turning out and re-electing President Bashar al-Assad. According to Parliament speaker Hammouda Sabbagh, from over 14.2 million participated voters, 95 percent voted to give the incumbent president the mandate to continue in the office. Over 18.2 million people were eligible to vote.

Figures show that Bashar Hafez al-Assad received 13,540,360 votes which is equivalent to 95.1 percent of the votes. Mahmoud Marie, another candidate, received 470,276 votes, or 3.3 percent of the vote, and the third candidate Abdullah Salum Abdullah was given 213,968 votes, or 1.5 percent of the vote.

Massive turnout, which reportedly reached 78 percent, came amid failed heavy Arab and Western propaganda seeking to discredit the voting process and encourage the people to boycott the election.

The Syrian election carries a message, telling the world that the Syrian people foiled the policies of the enemies, especially the West, in the Arab country.

Tightening the bonds between Syrian government and people

In the recent Syrian presidential election, 78 percent of eligible voters participated, which shows the seal of approval of the Syrian people for this election and the governing system in their country. This is a significant turnout rate and is coming while the West went to great lengths to intervene in Syria and take anti-Syrian measures including imposing sanctions on Damascus and preventing reconstruction aids to the war-weary nation. Now that 78 percent of eligible people inside and outside the country have participated in this election and confirmed its validity, and the majority have voted for the current political system, it no longer makes sense for the West to hide behind the so-called support for people to justify its setting up roadblocks ahead of the efforts seeking to find a solution to the decade-long crisis.

The high and smart turnout showed that the Syrians, looking back and seeing the emptiness of the US-led Western promises, figure out that the only savior of their country amid this devastating crisis is their legitimate government. Actually, a decade of bloody developments made it clear for the Syrian people that advocating the Western-sponsored opposition brings about nothing but destruction and more crisis.

Big mandate and legitimacy to Assad government

Holding multi-candidate presidential election, the first in 50 years, will significantly increase the legitimacy and solidification of the ruling system and President Assad himself. Over the past years, the Western and Arab propaganda concentrated on illegitimacy and unpopularity of Assad government. Raising the need for competitive election to take steps towards democracy, the Damascus opponents argued that Assad lacked the legality to rule and he will lose the post in the election.

But holding the elections with the presence of 3 candidates and with a high turnout and 95 percent of vote for Assad marked an end to all of the Western claims and questions against Assad rule. A 95 percent vote base and high turnout rate give the Syrian leader a strong mandate to pursue reconstruction, refugee return, illegitimization of the sanctions, recapture of the terrorist-held areas, and expulsion of the foreign occupation forces.

Also, the consolidation of Bashar al-Assad through elections will play a unique role in the type of interaction between the central government and the Kurdish forces holding much of the north and northeast Syria. In fact, the recent elections showed that the Kurds in the new conditions are facing a legitimate government that will take steps to exercise sovereignty over the entire country. Under the new circumstances, the central government will undoubtedly have the upper hand in any negotiations with the Kurds, and they will have no choice but to reach an agreement with Damascus.

Sanctions card burns

Another result of the recent Syrian elections is a significant decrease in the weight of the opposition and takfiri groups that in the run-up to the recent elections rejected any participation in the elections and considered it illegitimate and encouraged the people to boycott. Hoping that the Syrian people would have a low turnout in the elections, the opposition wanted to adopt the old strategy of propagating illegitimacy of the government in Damascus.

In the new situation, the opposition’s card of Assad government illegitimacy is invalid to people and the big no of the Syrian people to the foreign-backed opposition cuts its weight in the negotiations for the future of the country. The conclusion is that the presidential election put an end to all allegations and blackening campaign unleashed against Damascus by the Western and Arab countries, as well as the internal mercenaries struggling to topple the legal government of President Assad.