Vote proved Syrians’ commitment to country: Analyst

Syrians have proven they are committed to their country by turning out in droves in the national presidential election despite foreign-backed militancy in the Arab country, a political analyst tells Press TV.

“It (Syrians’ high turnout in the election) is a testament to the Syrian people’s commitment to their country that they went out despite this Western-inspired civil war and participated in their government process,” Rodney Martin, a former US congressional staffer, told Press TV in a Wednesday interview.

Commenting on the reaction of western countries to the election in the Arab country, the analyst said, “Obviously, they will continue to denounce this election and they will continue to be state sponsors of terrorism and perpetrate terrorism against the Syrian people.”

He further touched upon the foreign-sponsored militancy in the Middle Eastern country, saying, “This civil war has been perpetrated against the Syrian people, it is the civilians in Syria… suffering as a result of this civil war that is being perpetrated by the West.”

On Tuesday, the Syrian people voted in high numbers in the presidential election across the government-controlled areas of the country.

On Wednesday, Syrian People’s Assembly speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Laham announced that Syria’s incumbent leader Bashar al-Assad won 88.7 percent of the vote. The country’s Supreme Constitutional Court also announced that 73.42% of the 15.8 million eligible voters had taken part in the election.

Following the announcement, crowds took to streets throughout the country to celebrate the re-election of the incumbent president.

Assad, MP Maher al-Hajjar, and businessman Hassan al-Nouri were competing for the top post.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.