Syrians Head to The Polls Despite Bloody Civil War

President Assad still has control to run state television broadcast footage of people queuing to cast their votes in several cities.

Even though a bloody civil war rages on in Syria, the government-held areas of the country have headed to the polls to choose their next President, which looks to remain the same. Photo Courtesy: Syrian official news agency SANA.

(DAMASCUS, Syria) - Even though a bloody civil war rages on in Syria, the government held areas of the country have headed to the polls to choose their next President, which looks to remain the same.

While tens of thousands of people have died during the civil war, which is now three years old, government leaders have put in place a massive campaign to have the vote as a way to try and end the war. Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad cast his ballot on Tuesday in the country’s presidential elections amid heightened security.

President Bashar al-Assad is expected to win the vote overwhelmingly, while the United States and it’s allies have dismissed Tuesday’s election as a charade, saying no credible vote can be held in a country where wide swaths of territory are outside state control and millions of people have been displaced.

President Assad still has control to run state television broadcast footage of people queuing to cast their votes in several cities. He is running against two relatively unknown challengers who were approved by a parliament packed with his supporters, the first time in half a century that Syrians have been offered any choice of candidates.

Neither of Assad’s rivals, former minister Hassan al-Nouri or parliamentarian Maher Hajjar, is expected to make any noise in the government controlled election.