Parliamentary Polls Open in Syria

Polls opened in Syria on Wednesday, with Syrians are defying the war and electing 250 lawmakers from over 3,500 candidates from across all Syrian provinces.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) and will remain open for 12 hours unless the electoral commission decides to extend the deadline.

“Voting centers, which number over 7,300, opened their doors to voters at 7 AM and will remain open until 7 PM.,” SANA news agency reported.

It added that the elections durations “can be extended for five hours by a decision from the Higher Judicial Committee for Elections.”

SANA added that President Bashar al-Assad and his wife cast their ballots.

“President Bashar al-Assad and Mrs. Asma al-Assad voted Wednesday in the People’s Assembly elections at a voting center in al-Assad Library in Damascus.”

Candidates began their elections campaigns on March 14th, which continued until the morning of Tuesday April 12th, at the same time as the judicial subcommittees for the elections announced their readiness to carry out and supervise the elections, according to SANA.

The vote is the second ballot since the beginning of the war in 2011.