The Syrian National Coalition announced late Wednesday that the candidate Ahmad Toumeh was elected chairman of the Syrian Interim Government for the second consecutive time.
The election was conducted by the General Commission of the Coalition. Some 35 members withdrew from the election session in protest against what they called "the dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood over the Coalition" and its insistence on re-appointing Toumeh after he was dismissed a few months earlier.
The members issued a statement clarifying their position (see the statement in other stories published by The Syrian Observer).
Toumeh won by 63 votes to 1 vote for the candidate Yassin Al-Najjar, of the total 65 votes.
The list of candidates competing for the presidency of the government has included 13 names out of 50 figures who applied for nomination. They include the Prime Minister, Ahmad Toumeh, and his deputy, Iyad Qudsi, the former Prime Minister, Ghassan Hitto, Mohammed Yasin an-Najar, Walid al-Zoubi, Mohammad Rahhal, Safaa Zarzour, Lamiaa Nahhas, Ali Badran, Saba Hakim, Abdurrahman Dadam, Abdo Hossam El Din and Hani Khabbaz.
The election was held between three final candidates: Toumeh, Badran and Najjar.
The General Commission of the Coalition concluded its meetings late Wednesday night in Istanbul, after its members discussed the legal and regulating relations between the Coalition and the Syrian Interim Government which is considered the executive arm of the Coalition in Syrian cities. Members also discussed the attitudes toward the International Alliance which avoided attacking Assad and his terrorist gangs.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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