Syrian Parliamentary Elections Highlight Divisions and Uncertainty
By ANNE BARNARDAPRIL 13, 2016
BEIRUT, Lebanon —
Syria’s president and first lady cast their ballots on Wednesday in front of clapping crowds, as state television captured the moment and set it to a dramatic soundtrack. Across Damascus, government employees were delivered to the polls aboard packed buses. The electricity even stayed on for most of the day in the capital, a rarity in these days of civil war.
But beyond the official pomp, Wednesday’s elections for the Syrian People’s Assembly — a largely powerless parliamentary body in a country where nearly every decision rests with President
Bashar al-Assad — served mainly to highlight the country’s deep divisions and uncertainty.
The elections, held on the first day of a new round of diplomatic talks in Geneva, contradict a timetable for political transition agreed on by global and regional powers, including the United States and Russia, Mr. Assad’s most powerful ally.
The ballot was called “a sham” by France and “not legitimate” by the United States. It was mocked in online videos shared by Syrian opposition activists,
one showing a montage of members of Parliament reading odes to Mr. Assad and telling him: “The Arab nation is too small for you. You should lead the world!”
“These elections aren’t real,” Salem al-Meslet, a spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee representing Syrian opposition groups, said in a statement in Geneva. “In real elections, the voice of the people can be heard.”
Large parts of the country that are controlled by insurgent groups did not participate in the voting on Wednesday. Despite a
fragile partial cease-fire, government and Russian warplanes have continued to hit areas controlled by nationalists and Islamist rebels, as well as territory held by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. An American-led coalition is also bombing areas held by the group.
In Hama Province, where government and allied airstrikes have increased in the past week, an air-to-ground missile killed Dr. Hassan al-Araj, one of the few doctors still working in rebel-held territory, according to rescue workers and colleagues. It struck his car near a hospital that had been set up inside a cave to protect it from bombardment.
In several mainly Kurdish areas along the Turkish border in northern Syria where residents have declared self-rule, the local authorities announced that they would not participate in elections.
In government-held areas, where schools were closed and state employees were warned that they must show up to vote, some said they had cast ballots largely out of fear that they would otherwise be punished.
In Hama, one voter said he had spent 49 days in prison because his name had been confused with that of someone suspected of antigovernment activity. He added that he was voting for the government’s preferred candidates because he was afraid that if he did not, he would be thrown back in prison.
The few tolerated opposition parties that often take part in elections that others dismiss as political theater boycotted the elections, including some parties that had sanctioned the 2014 vote that endorsed Mr. Assad’s rule and was widely disputed as illegitimate.
Those boycotting Wednesday’s ballot included several parties that Russia has recognized as legitimate opposition groups, such as the party of the former finance minister, Kadri Jamil.
Polling places in Damascus did not appear to be particularly busy, even though the government had taken extra measures to increase turnout.
At the border post where people cross from Lebanon into Syria, ballot boxes were provided, and the authorities appeared to be requiring Syrians to cast ballots before entering or leaving the country.
And for the first time, military members were allowed to vote in parliamentary elections, something that had been long banned by Mr. Assad and his father to avoid political involvement by army officers and potential coups.
Members of the military were allowed to vote anywhere in the country, while civilians had to vote in their hometowns. The government made an exception for voters from insurgent-held areas, setting up polling places in Damascus. Turnout appeared low there, too.
Abu Fadi, a pro-government fighter serving in the desert gas fields west of Palmyra, said in a text message that a polling place there, mostly for soldiers, had closed three hours early. The area was under threat from Islamic State militants nearby, he said, using only his nickname for fear of reprisal for talking to a journalist without permission.
It was unclear whether the turnout was dampened more by the continuing fighting or by the large numbers of people who have fled the country, or whether there was simply less enthusiasm, even among Assad loyalists. Some people may have been more comfortable staying home and choosing not to vote.
Late in the day, it was announced that voting could continue until midnight to accommodate what state news media called large numbers of voters.
On Wednesday afternoon in Damascus, two large trucks could be seen in Kafr Souseh square, where many security agencies have their headquarters. They were carrying sewage workers to vote en masse.
“I vote to say that the government is still strong and runs the country, not because I like one of the candidates,” said Ammar, 30, an employee of a state-run company who admitted that he had voted three times. “I love President Bashar al-Assad only and will vote to protect the Syrian state.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/world/middleeast/syrian-parliamentary-elections-highlight-divisions-and-uncertainty.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0