Iranian Envoy: Syrians’ High Turnout in Elections Foils Enemies’ Plots

Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Qazanfar Roknabadi lauded the Syrian people’s massive participation in the last week’s parliamentary elections, saying it indicated the failure of enemies’ plots.

“Holding elections in Syria and people’s remarkable participation in these elections indicates the failure of the enemies’ plots and the Syrian government’s seriousness in carrying out reforms,” Roknabadi said in a meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

He underlined that materializing the peaceful demands of the people by the statesmen is seriously pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Syria’s recent parliamentary elections were conducted in a “free” climate and the voters’ turnout is estimated at 51.26 percent, chairman of the Syrian higher committee of elections said Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference at the Justice Ministry in the capital Damascus, Khlaf Azzawi said 5.186 million people have cast valid ballots.

A total of 7,195 candidates, including 710 women, were competing for seats in the legislature.

The elections on May 7 ran “smoothly and easily,” Azzawi said, adding that Syrian voters were “free to elect the one that represents them”.

He said the turnout was “good”, adding that 30 women won in the elections, making the number of female lawmakers the same as in the previous term.

The announcement of election results has been postponed for several days, as voting was re-conducted at several electoral centers across the country due to some violations of the election law.

The elections are the first under the new constitution adopted three months ago that allows political parties to compete with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ruling Baath Party.

A total of 11 new parties participated in the elections, along with 10 parties of the National Progressive Front headed by the Baath party, as well as some independents.

The parliamentary elections came amid exceptional circumstances as the country was witnessing bloody events and terrorist attacks especially in hot areas.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are blamed for the terrorist blasts in Syria as they have overtly and covertly rendered logistical and financial support for armed rebels and terrorist groups in Syria.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of stirring unrests in Syria once again.