Syrian expats celebrate Assad re-election in Australia

A group of Syrian expats in Australia have gathered in Sydney to celebrate the re-election of Bashar al-Assad as the Syrian president.
They denounced any foreign intervention in their homeland and pledged to continue their support for President Assad.
The expats also called on Australia to help the Syrian government in its fight against foreign-backed militants.
The Syrian expat community also criticized Canberra over its double standards when it comes to human rights violations by Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf.
Syria’s presidential election was held on June 3. This is while, Syrian expats were deprived of their right to vote in some countries like Australia given that the Syrian Embassy there was forced to close down in 2012.
Assad won nearly 90 percent of the votes cast in Syria’s presidential race. Syria’s Supreme Constitutional Court also announced that over 73 percent of the 15.8 million eligible voters had taken part in the election.
Following the announcement, crowds took to the streets throughout the country to celebrate the landslide victory of Assad.
Delegations from different countries, including Iran, Russia, the Philippines, Bolivia, Venezuela, Tajikistan, Zimbabwe and Uganda, monitored the presidential election in Syria.
Meanwhile, international delegates observing the presidential election have released several statements calling the vote democratic and transparent.
Most Syrians are in hope of finding a democratic solution through the ballot boxes to resolve the three-year conflict.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011.
According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.