Nailbiter Syrian Election for "Council of the People"

The world's eyes are focused on a close election whose results will have a major impact on the future of international affairs. No, it's not France's humdrum presidential poll or Nigeria's dull vote, but rather the down-to-the-wire race in Syria for the wonderfully-named "Council of the People":

Voter apathy may be a grand phrase when applied to elections for a rubber-stamp parliament in an effective one-party state. But when even Syria's government-controlled Tishreen newspaper sees fit to point out a distinct lack of "enthusiasm" for the coming elections, interest must be at rock-bottom.

"Nothing on the ground indicates that the Syrian people are showing enthusiasm for the forthcoming elections for the people's assembly," Tishreen noted this month...

In Syria, voters will choose from almost 10,000 government-vetted candidates for 250 parliamentary seats, of which 170 are reserved for the ruling Ba'ath party and its allies. The other 80 go to independents, including many rich businessmen and industrialists who in practice do not dare diverge from the government line...

It all seems part of a consolidation of power in the hands of President Bashar al-Assad, who inherited the mantle from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000. Mr Assad is set to have himself reconfirmed as president later this year in a referendum in which he will be the only candidate.

We'll be up all night awaiting the results.

Comments

[nike free run]

It is perhaps the gradual, but unabating gain gradient, from the front part of the shoe where the toes go in to peak at the middle section of the shoe (where the tip of its 'tongue' is located)