Presidential elections took place in 43 embassies, voter turnout over 95 percent

The Higher Judicial Committee for Elections received Saturday the final results of the presidential elections that took place in Syria’s embassies abroad.

Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Dr. Fayssal Mikdad, who is chairman of the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry’s Central Committee for Presidential Elections, handed the final results to the committee.

“The Higher Judicial Committee was handed an envelope in which the number of votes that every candidate secured were enclosed,” said Mikdad.

Voting took place in 43 embassies with the voter turnout surpassing 95 per cent of the citizens who had had their names registered on electoral lists, Mikdad said.

Syrians abroad went to the Syrian embassies in their counties of residence to vote for a president last Wednesday, May 28. The Syrians inside Syria are set to vote on June 3.

The political decisions of some countries which banned the Syrian elections on their lands violate all international agreements and human rights conventions, Mikdad said.

The Syrians’ scramble to cast their ballots in the Syrians embassies aboard “has dashed all that Western propaganda has been propagating against them over three years,” he added.

Mikdad praised the course of elections abroad which, he said, went uncontested, adding that they “reflected remarkable awareness of the Syrians and their belief in their country.”

“Voting proceeded smoothly and democratically, and passed without a hitch,” Mikdad pointed out, adding that some countries have made a mockery of themselves when they spoke of democracy and human rights then proceeded to prevent Syrians from voting, showing that those who claim to uphold democracy are mere minions who carry out instructions from either Israel or the United States.

“Those who conspired against their homeland were tossed away into the trash by the Syrian people through the momentum and eagerness they expressed when they voted,” he said.

Chief of the Higher Judicial Committee for Elections Hisham al-Shaar said the results of elections that were held abroad will be merged with those of the upcoming vote inside Syria before final results are announced.

Al-Shaar hailed the “colossal efforts” of the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry’s Central Committee for Presidential Elections against tough odds as some countries have banned the Syrians from voting.

Regarding the elections inside Syria, al-Shaar said that individuals not eligible to vote by law have been excluded from the electoral register, adding that the positioning of voting centers was decided upon based on security conditions and population density in areas.

He said that the foreign delegations which were invited by the Speaker of the People’s Assembly to observe the elections have the right to attend at any elections center, and that voting time can be extended upon receiving information from subcommittees indicating the necessity of doing so.