When the Syrian opposition negotiators went to the Geneva II conference earlier this year, they were hoping for a deal that would end not only the three-year conflict in their country, but also the rule of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. However, back home the regime has been pretending that everything is business as usual. Despite the fighting that goes on unabated and a humanitarian crisis that worsens by the day, the regime is now promising elections, with Al-Assad the only possible winner. A few days ago, the Syrian information minister announced that “there has been a decision made by the people for Al-Assad to run for another presidential term, and the people are pressing the president to run”. Syria's security forces are now working double time to turn these ominous words into reality. In various areas of the country, the security services are pressuring helpless government employees and even schoolchildren to go out into the streets and demand the re-election of Al-Assad. In the few enclaves of support for the regime, residents have started a campaign to support Al-Assad's re-election as president. Marching in the streets, the president's supporters have been chanting slogans saying that “we won't accept anyone but Al-Assad”. Government officials close to the security services are claiming that the masses are “begging” Al-Assad to run for re-election or that “public pressure” is impelling him to seek re-nomination. In markets in Damascus and other areas still under the government's control, the security authorities have forced merchants to paint the facades of shops with Syrian flags. The makeshift walls made of massive concrete blocks that the authorities have used to block the streets are also painted with the flags. Fresh posters of Al-Assad have made an appearance on various government buildings as a sign of the regime's intentions. The ruling Syrian Baath Party is organising a series of lectures in which officials have been invited to speak about their intention to beg Al-Assad to run. The presidential elections are scheduled for June, and Al-Assad is legally entitled to run. The country's constitution, written under his auspices in 2012, confined presidential terms to two for all future presidents but allowed Al-Assad, and only Al-Assad, to run for four terms. The constitution, passed one year after the start of the revolution in the country, gives the president extensive powers. Article 88 allows the president to name the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, the ministers, and the deputy ministers. Article 98 allows the president to formulate the public policy of the state, declare war, and make peace. Article 103 allows the president to declare a state of emergency. Article 105 makes the president chief of the armed forces. Article 111 allows the president to disband the parliament and assume legislative powers. Lawyer Anwar Al-Binni, director of the Syrian Centre for Legal Research and Studies, said that the constitution in its current form was far from conducive to fair elections. Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Al-Binni said that “this constitution was produced by a regime that doesn't trust its own people. The Al-Assad regime decides on the powers it wishes to have.” The constitution states that anyone who runs for president must have lived in the country for 10 consecutive years and not received court convictions, a provision that excludes most members of the opposition. Observers say that the very idea of holding elections in a country in which a major part of the population has been driven from their homes is preposterous. Over four million Syrians have fled the country, more than five million have been forced out of their homes, nearly 100,000 are in prison, and thousands have gone missing. Any elections held in such circumstances would be marred by fraud and coercion. According to opposition member Said Moqbel, none of the conditions conducive to credible elections are present in today's Syria. Speaking to the Weekly, Moqbel said that “to have elections, you need to have a law allowing every political current to name its candidate and present its programme. You need freedom of expression, freedom of the media, and equal access by all candidates to the official media.” Even more importantly, the security services need to refrain from interfering in the elections, he added. Credible elections would need to take place under the supervision of a fully independent judiciary, with the executive power remaining neutral and Arab and international observers monitoring the process. However, the Syrian regime seems to be intending to proceed regardless, seeking the re-election of Al-Assad for seven more years. According to observers, if elections are held the outcome will be known in advance, and the security services and media will hail Al-Assad as the “saviour of the nation”. Anyone with a different view will either go missing, land in jail, or be labelled a terrorist. Members of the Syrian opposition, who have nothing but contempt for the current constitution, say that the country needs a fresh start and not more of the same.
