The Foreign and Expatriates Minister Faysal Mekdad has affirmed that the broad participation of Syrians living abroad in the presidential elections that took place last Thursday demonstrates to the whole world that they stand by their homeland. In an interview with Al-Mayadeen TV, Mekdad said, “Syria’s enemies were betting that the elections wouldn’t be held, but the large influx of Syrians abroad to their country’s embassies in various capitals showed that the Syrians are committed to the objectives that Syria set for itself years ago, in particular the Palestinian cause and the liberation of the occupied Arab territories.”
“The voting process would have continued for two, three, and four days but those brutal attacks committed against them prevented it,” he clarified.
He said, “Syria’s enemies do not want the refugees to return because they want to continue investing in them.”
“They expected to exploit the refugees in these elections against their country, but all these satanic dreams have completely failed and have been shattered thanks to the steadfastness of Syria and its people,” he said.
Regarding the restoration of normal relations with Arab countries, Mekdad said: “Syria welcomes any initiative in this domain and it supports any efforts exerted to achieve this. We must stand alongside each other and cooperate to the maximum within the framework of developing Arab-Arab relations.”
On the decision of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) against Syria last month, Mekdad noted that the United States has exerted great pressure on the members of the organization, and yet only 87 out of 193 countries voted in favor of the decision, meaning less than half of the member states.
He pointed out that the OPCW is a technical organization in which issues can’t be solved by voting, like the General Assembly of the United Nations, but in the framework of consensus between countries.
Mekdad said that the escalation by the OPCW took place at this time mainly with the aim of harming the presidential elections and preventing any return by Arab countries to Syria and from Syria to its Arab surroundings, and to continue to support terrorist groups, as these are Western goals, whether they are French, German, American or British.
Electoral Silence
The Higher Judicial Committee for Elections has set Tuesday 07:00 a.m. to start the electoral silence and to stop the electoral propaganda for candidates for the post of President of the Republic.
In a statement, the Committee noted that under the provisions of Article 58 of the General Elections Law for the year 2014, and its executive instructions, the electoral propaganda shall be stopped 24 hours before the date set for the elections, which will take place on May 26, and accordingly, stopping the electoral propaganda starts on Tuesday at 07:00 a.m.
Media center
The Minister of Information Imad Sara inaugurated on Monday a media center to cover the presidential elections at the building of the Ministry of Information in Damascus which presents services to all local, Arab, and foreign media, SANA reported.
The center presents all media services for journalists and local, Arab, and foreign media outlets in one place to allow all television, radio channels, and news agencies to broadcast and cover the presidential elections in Syria.
In a statement to reporters, the Minister of Information said that there are 165 accredited correspondents in Syria for 65 countries and that the total number of media professionals coming from abroad and media professionals accredited inside Syria reached 290, as media delegations came from the US, Russia, Denmark, the Netherlands, China, and Japan to cover the elections.
Parliamentary delegations
Parliamentary delegations from friendly and brotherly countries continued to arrive in Syria to keep pace with the presidential elections and inspect its process.
On Sunday, delegations from Iraq, Iran, and South Ossetia arrived in Damascus.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
