This is the third parliamentary election in Syria since 2011, the start of a conflict that killed more than 380,000 people and caused the exodus of millions of people. The Syrians are going to the polls this July 19 to elect their deputies from among the 1,658 candidates running. More than 7,400 polling stations opened their doors at 7:00 a.m. this morning in government areas.

Originally scheduled for April, the vote was delayed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic that infected 496 people and killed 25 people in the regions of the regime, according to official figures.

The Baath party, in power for half a century and intimately linked to the Assad clan, generally wins hands down these legislative elections, organized every four years to elect 250 deputies, while the majority of opponents live in exile or in sectors escaping. in control of Damascus.

During the 2016 legislative elections, the voter turnout was 57.56% among the nearly 9 million voters. But this year, the millions of Syrians abroad, the majority of whom are refugees, will not be able to participate in the elections unless they return.

Economic and social issues dominate

According to the electoral commission, polling stations were installed for the first time in eastern Ghouta, a former insurgent enclave at the gates of the capital. But also in reconquered territories in the province of Idleb, the last great jihadist and rebel bastion of the North West, which remains in the sights of the regime.

Damascus has chained victories in recent years thanks to the military support of Russia and Iran, until regaining control of more than 70% of the country fragmented by war. Today, however, the candidates' programs are dominated by economic and social questions, promising in particular solutions to soaring prices and the rehabilitation of infrastructure.

For several months, the economy has been in free fall, with a historic depreciation of the currency. More than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN. A crisis also accentuated by the sanctions adopted by Washington in mid-June, in addition to similar measures already imposed by the West.

No way out of the crisis    

Twenty years ago, Bashar al-Assad, then 34 years old, had acceded to the supreme magistracy after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad. After three decades of undivided power from his father, "Bashar" embodied a hope for change. Twenty years later, his regime is treated as an outcast on the international scene.

Especially since after nine years of a deadly war, involving regional and international powers, no way out of the crisis is in sight. The next presidential election is scheduled for 2021.

With AFP 

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