Russia has called on the international community to assist the Assad regime with the presidential elections, which it plans to hold in several weeks, citing the absence of “provisions that hinder that.”
Dmitry Polansky, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, said, “some European countries announced from the beginning that they would not recognize these elections and would consider them illegal.”
Polansky added, as was reported by Russian media on Wednesday, that these countries “undoubtedly have the right to act this way, but we believe that there are no grounds for this position.”
He considered that “the presidential elections and the drafting of the new constitution are two different processes, and, therefore, there are no reasons for considering voting unconstitutional.”
He also considered that the regime has the full right to hold elections, as “there are no provisions that hinder this,” calling on everyone to “help in organizing these elections.”
In the past few months, statements have been issued by Assad regime officials, confirming that the elections will be held on time, according to the existing constitution and “without outside interference.”
Assad confirmed, in a media interview on November 11, that the 2021 elections would be held as scheduled, in accordance with the 2012 constitution.
While the Assad regime stresses that the presidential elections will be held “on time,” Western countries — led by the US and European countries — say that the elections are “illegal,” given that a large segment of the Syrian population will not participate in them.
This article was translated and 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.
