Asia

Asia

Syria calls presidential vote, defying Assad's opponents

22 April 2014 04:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Syria announced on Monday a presidential election for June 3, preparing the ground for Bashar al-Assad to defy widespread opposition and extend his grip on power, days after he said the civil war was turning in his favor, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Western and Gulf Arab countries that back Assad's opponents have called plans for an election a "parody of democracy" and said it would wreck efforts to negotiate a peace settlement.

U.N.-backed talks in Geneva collapsed in February with both sides far from agreement - not least over the question of whether Assad should go.

Monzer Akbik, of the Western-backed National Coalition opposition group, told Reuters the election was a sign Assad was unwilling to seek a political solution to the conflict.

"This is a state of separation from reality, a state of denial. He didn't have any legitimacy before this theatrical election and he will not after," Akbik said.

"We do not know what actor he is putting up as an opponent but we are not taking this seriously."

Infighting has fragmented the anti-Assad forces, and several major opposition figures did not attend the Geneva talks.

The European Union reiterated its stance against holding an election now. It said such a vote "conducted in the midst of conflict, only in regime-controlled areas and with millions of Syrians displaced from their homes would be a parody of democracy, have no credibility whatsoever, and undermine efforts to reach a political solution."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "Such elections are incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Geneva communique," referring to a June 2012 agreement on seeking a political transition in Syria.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: "The Syrian regime under the Assads has never held a credible, free and fair election and has taken legal and administrative steps to ensure that this vote will not be fair.

"Calling for a de facto referendum rings especially hollow now as the regime continues to massacre the very electorate it purports to represent," she added.

The three-year-old rebellion against Assad has killed more than 150,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and caused the government to lose control over swathes of territory.