Syria's presidential election meet int'l standards - Russian monitor

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The presidential elections in Syria meet international standards commonly recognized and all statements about these elections being farce are unsound and politically motivated, Russian Federation Council international affairs committee member Igor Morozov said. Morozov monitors the elections within a group of Russian parliamentarians and Russian Central Election Committee representatives.

"We had the opportunity to go to many polling stations in Damascus and outside the Syrian capital and we state officially that these elections meet international standards commonly recognized," Morozov told Interfax on the telephone from Damascus on June 3.

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"Monitors had the opportunity to talk freely with voters and representatives of different political movements. We have an objective picture, so all statements, coming from US Department of State representatives that these elections are a 'farce' are unsound and politically motivated," Morozov said.

Voters had the opportunity to access and vote freely and the secrecy of their votes was observed, he said.

"In order to avoid falsification, after putting the bulletin in the ballot box, every voter put their index finger in waterproof ink and every voter is checked for having this 'stamp', which rules out holding any merry-go-round [voting]," the Russian senator said.

Advertisement space is divided equally between three candidates, he said.

"We were accompanied by employees of the Russian embassy, who watched closely the entire campaign process from the very beginning.

They told us that during this campaign every candidate had the opportunity to argue and debate. No one impeded anyone and no one banned anyone," Morozov said.

In comparison with other candidates, current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has higher chances, he said.

"We have talked with ordinary Syrians at polling stations and most of them gave merit to the current Syrian leader for the fact that despite the outside pressure, firstly from the United States and its partners in the West and European Union, he managed to preserve the country and avoid repeating the Libyan scenario," Morozov said.

Syria sees what the "Arab spring" has led to in a number of Middle Eastern states, Morozov said.

"It did not get better for anyone, it got only worse and Syrians understand this clearly and give merit to the political will of the current president," he said.

Syria's first presidential polls end, Assad is in the lead

Syria's presidential election, which has been held for the first-ever time on an alternative basis, ended at midnight. Due to a very high turnout of voters, polling, which began at 07 am Tuesday, was prolonged for five hours. The present Head of State Bashar Assad is indisputably in the lead. Together with his wife Asma, he cast his vote at a polling station in the secondary school named after national hero Naim Maasarani. The school is located not far far from the presidential residence in Damascus.

Another candidate running for presidency, Maher Abdul-Hafiz Hajjar, a Communist member of parliament from Aleppo, went to a polling station set up in the parliament palace in Salhiya Quarter. Just like Assad, he refrained from remarks to the press.

The third candidate, Hasan Abdel Illahi al-Nuri, a Liberal, cast his vote at a polling station at Sheraton Hotel. He told journalists that the elections being held in Syria "proceed in a democratic and transparent way". "Syria is becoming a different country where pluralism is taking root and a different opinion gets acceptable," he emphasized.

The polling results will be announced not earlier than in 24 hours' time and only after full counting of votes, Hisham al-Shaar, Head of the Supreme Judicial Committee for Elections (electoral commission), told Itar-Tass in an exclusive interview. "Preliminary and final results will be announced simultaneously. No tentative results will be made public," he said, pointing out that no exit polls are practised in this country.

The polling process was monitored by observers from 30 friendly-to-Syria countries, including those from Russia. The Russian observers have already stated that they recognise the elections in Syria as legitimate, Alexei Alexandrov, leader of the Russian delegation and First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation of the Federation Council upper house of the Russian parliament, told Itar-Tass in an interview.

"We have no doubts about legitimacy of these polls," he stressed, pointing out that an appropriate Act would be signed by the Russian observers.

"Syria does everything to get aligned with the world's democratic law-governed states. There are no doubts that he (Bashar Assad) was confronted by serious politicians who had every ground to expect a realistic win. It is obvious that President Assad enjoys special prestige, and the people's love for him is felt. From legal and objective points of view, the elections are held impeccably. The existing minor reproaches will not influence the final results," the observer said.

"Three years of struggle against Saudis and Qatar have not subdued us. They did not even dream of democracy of ours," Muhammad Faiz, a voter, told Itar-Tass at a polling station. He put a tick beneath the portrait of Bashar Assad one of the three candidates listed in the ballot-paper. Following that, he lowered his index finger of his right hand into a jar with ink. The ink traces rule out the possibility of a repeat vote.

Ridvan Awan, a member of the electoral commission, said, "Turnout of voters has been high. Polling has been held in an open and honest atmosphere". Itar-Tass correspondents have been able to see that for themselves upon visiting unimpededly about 15 polling stations in Damascus and watching the entire procedure for polling.

Armed militants' attempts to frustrate the polling proved to no avail. People on the streets of the Syrian capital were joyful and merry on the polling day.<