The president of the Syrian People’s Assembly officially announces Assad victorious for fourth presidential term by 95.1%

Syrian President Bashar al Assad won a fourth term after receiving 95.1% of the vote in elections that would extend his rule over a country devastated by war, but opponents and the West say they were not fair.

The government says the elections show that Syria has returned to normal life despite the decade-long war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and caused the displacement of 11 million, or about half of the country’s population, from their homes.

Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Hammouda Sabbagh, announced the results at a press conference on Thursday, and said that the turnout reached 78.66%, with the participation of more than 15 million Syrians.

The elections took place despite the United Nations-led peace process called for voting under international supervision in order to pave the way for a new constitution and political settlement.

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States said in a statement criticizing Assad before the elections that the process would not be free or fair, and Turkey said the elections are illegal.

The victory gives the 55-year-old Assad another seven years in power and extends his family’s rule to nearly six decades.

His father, Hafez al Assad, led Syria for 30 years until his death in 2000.

Assad said on his campaign page on Facebook, “Thank you to all Syrians for their high patriotism and their remarkable participation in this national event… for the future of Syria’s children and youth, let us start from tomorrow the stage of work to reinforce the hope of building Syria as it should be”.

Once he regains control of about 70% of the country, the biggest challenge facing Assad will be the faltering economy.

The prospects for economic recovery appear weak due to the tightening of US sanctions, the financial collapse of neighboring Lebanon and the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected remittances from Syrians abroad, as well as the inability of allies Russia and Iran to provide adequate assistance.

Throughout the day, rallies were held, in which thousands participated, waving Syrian flags, carrying pictures of Assad, and singing and dancing to celebrate the elections, before the results were announced.

Officials said in private statements that the authorities have organized, in the past few days, large rallies throughout Syria to encourage voting.

They added that the security services that support Assad’s rule, which is dominated by the minority Alawite community, have also instructed state employees to vote.

The Kurdish-led forces, backed by the United States, boycotted voting in an oil-rich autonomous region in the northeast and in the northwestern Idlib region, the last opposition stronghold, as people condemned the elections in mass demonstrations on Wednesday.

Assad ran against two other, obscure candidates: Abdullah Salloum Abdullah, a former deputy minister, and Mahmoud Ahmad Marei, the head of a small opposition party officially accredited.

Sabbagh said that Marei received 3.3% of the vote, while Salloum received 1.5%.