Syria's predictable polls: A pledge of 'allegiance' to Assad
By AFP - May 25,2021 - Last updated at May 25,2021
People walk next to election campaign billboards depicting Syrian President Bashar Assad, a candidate for the upcoming presidential vote, in the capital Damascus, on Monday (AFP photo)
BEIRUT — President Bashar Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for over half a century, faces an election on Wednesday meant to cement his image as the only hope for recovery in the war-battered country, analysts say.
His campaign slogan, "Hope through Work", evokes the reconstruction of a country ravaged by a decade-long conflict that has claimed more than 388,000 lives and displaced half of Syria's pre-war population.