DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — With security heightened in
Damascus and thousands fearing rebel attacks in other cities, Syria
holds an election Tuesday in the middle of its bloody civil war — a vote
that President Bashar Assad is expected to win easily and that critics
have denounced as a sham.
Assad’s re-election to another
seven-year term would show the tenacity of a ruler who had only a
tenuous grip on power just over a year ago. In the past 12 months, his
troops have clawed back to regain lost ground and significantly
strengthen his position, giving him little reason to seek a political
compromise in a conflict that has killed more than 160,000 people.
Still,
the Syrian government has gone to great lengths to present the vote as a
way to resolve the crisis and move forward. For the first time in more
than 50 years, more than one candidate will be on the ballot. Assad
faces two government-approved challengers in the race, Maher Hajjar and
Hassan al-Nouri, both of whom were little known in Syria before
declaring their candidacy in April.
The Syrian opposition and its
Western allies have dismissed the vote as a farce, questioning the
credibility of an election taking place during a raging civil war. Much
of northern and eastern Syria is in rebel hands, and polling will only
be done in government-controlled areas.
Ahmad al-Jarba, the leader
of the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, described the vote as
"theater written with the blood of Syrians." He urged his countrymen to
stay home, alleging that Assad was planning to bomb and shell voting
centers in order to blame the opposition.
Campaigning officially
ended Monday, and workers across central Damascus took down banners,
posters and pictures of the candidates. Blue and yellow tents were set
up to shade the crowds expected at polling stations from the sun.
Hajjar
and al-Nouri gave several interviews and turned up at election events
during the race, but Assad has not made any public appearances in recent
weeks. Still, the president remained a ubiquitous presence.
A
gigantic banner with a smiling Assad stretched from the upper stories of
a Damascus university building proclaiming, "The students are with
you." Another banner, spangled with tiny Syrian flags, hung from a
government ministry and proclaimed its support for the president.
Motorists
taped images of Assad on their windows, and posters of him in
sunglasses and a military uniform, his sleeves rolled up, were stuck to
military checkpoints.
Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi urged Syrians
to cast their ballots for a president "who would lead the next stage,
achieve security and stability in the country, and bolster unity and
national principle for the Syrian people and step up the achievement of
national reconciliation."
He said the election was a "historic
day" for Syria and that a large turnout will "prove to the entire world
that the Syrian people have decided and are determined to make the
electoral process a success."
Tens of thousands of Syrians abroad
voted last week, although many of the more than 2.7 million Syrian
refugees across the region either abstained or were excluded by voting
laws.
Inside Syria, attitudes toward the polls appeared to be a mix of apathy and anger.
Haya,
a 23-year-old civil engineering student from Homs, said she is under no
illusion the vote is truly fair, but said she still will vote for
Assad.
"If he stays in power, we have hope of getting our lives
back, the peace and the stability," she said, speaking on condition she
only give her first name because of security reasons.
"What’s the
alternative?" she asked. "Letting this violence continue and being at
the mercy of jihadists? Whether you personally like Assad or hate him,
you have to admit that the opposition did not give us anyone to rally
behind, someone who is not a traitor, who would protect minorities and
have weight on the ground."
Mohammed, a 37-year-old businessman
from Damascus who has lived in Beirut for the past three years, said he
will not return to vote. He also refused to give his full name because
he feared for his safety.
Rebels in some parts of the country have
threatened to disrupt the voting in government-held areas. Thousands of
people already have fled the northwestern city of Idlib fearing
attacks. Over the weekend, rebels appeared to ramp up their shelling in
the northern city of Aleppo.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights said 50 people have been killed in the Aleppo attacks
since Saturday. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said 20
people were killed and 80 wounded "within 10 minutes" on Saturday alone.
Aleppo,
Syria’s largest city and once its commercial center, has been carved
into rebel- and government-controlled areas since opposition fighters
launched an offensive in mid-2012. Voting will be held in government
areas, but not in opposition districts.
The Interior Ministry said
there were 15.8 million eligible voters, both inside and outside Syria.
It added that 9,600 voting centers have been set up around the country.
Polling
stations are scheduled to open on Tuesday at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT, midnight
EDT Monday) and close 12 hours later. The ministry said voting could be
extended for five hours if there is a big turnout.
Syria’s two main internal opposition groups describe the election as "illegitimate," and are
boycotting.
In
predominantly Kurdish areas in northeastern Syria, polling stations
will be open, although Kurdish parties have said they will boycott. The
only major city where there will be no vote is Raqqa, which is
controlled by the al-Qaida-breakaway Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant.
___
Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue, Yasmine Saker and Ryan Lucas in Beirut contributed to this report.