Syrians Going to Polls to Elect New Parliament
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Syria is holding its third parliamentary elections amid new sanctions imposed by the US.
More than 2,000 candidates, including businessmen, will be running in the legislative election on Sunday - the third since the start of a foreign-backed war in 2011.
The elections, originally scheduled to be held in April, were postponed twice due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
In the last vote in 2016, the Baath party and its allies took 200 of the 250-seat parliament while the remaining posts went to independent candidates.
For the first time this year, there will be polling stations in former militant-held regions, including in the Eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus and in the south of Idlib province in the country's northwest, according to AFP.
More than 7,000 polling stations have been set up across about 70 percent of the country.
After the vote, the new parliament plans to approve a new constitution, and President Bashar al-Assad is expected to name a new prime minister. The new parliament will also be expected to approve candidates for the next presidential election.
On the eve of the elections, two blasts struck the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing one and injuring another.
The Saturday blasts hit an area near Anas bin Malik mosque in the Nahr Aisha district of southern Damascus, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.
The mosque is where the Syrian president has attended prayers in the past.
No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks.