High turnout in Syria’s parliamentary polls

Polling stations in Damascus and other cities across the country, including volatile regions, which have been the scene of clashes between the security forces and terrorists in recent months witnessed high public turnout in the Monday parliamentary elections.

Syrian people arrived at polling stations and stood in long queues even before voting started in Homs, Daraa and Adlab which saw heavy unrests in recent months.

The Syrian people’s high turnout came as the western powers and other enemies of the country have sought hard to dissuade the people from voting on one hand and pave the ground for toppling President Bashar Assad’s government, on the other hand.

Observers believe that the high public turnout in the elections which is a big step towards reforms in Syria under such situation that terrorist groups still continue their moves to undermine or, at least, overshadow the elections, is a great victory for Syria’s national will and Bashar Assad’s reforms plan.

The polling in Syria on Monday was the country’s first multi-party parliamentary elections in half a century, a move considered by analysts as a step towards victory by President Bashar Assad’s reform plan and reinvigoration of stability and security in the country.

The elections followed a referendum on a new constitution in February which allowed all political parties to run for seats in the 250-strong parliament.

In March, Assad issued a decree to hold a parliamentary election on May 7. The current parliament’s term expired in March 2011, but has been extended in accordance with the country’s new constitution.