Syrian Parliament approved new Election Law

Parliament of Syria on 13 March 2014 unanimously approved a new election law that allows multiple candidates to run for the post of President. This passage of the law has opened the doors for other contenders apart from President Bashar Assad.

The new law permits only Syrian nationals or other person who have lived in Syria for minimum 10 consecutive years to run for the Presidential election. The new law was formulated on the basis of the new constitution that was passed in a referendum in March 2012 that allows multiparty political system in Syria and multiple Presidential candidates. The Presidential polls will be held between 60 and 90 days before the end of term of Assad.

The election law adopted by Parliament was rejected by the opposition Syrian National Coalition claiming it as illegitimate.

Background
Bashar Assad’s seven-year term in the office of the President will officially come to an end on 17 July 2014. The new law was voted four months before end of the tenure of Assad’s President Position. Apart from this, Baath Party has ruled on Syria since it seized power in a 1963 coup. In the earlier Presidential elections under Assad and his late father, Hafez Assad, were the only candidates.

The previous law granted power to the voters had the right to cast yes or no ballots on whether they supported their nomination for presidency by the Parliament.

Apart from this, the Syrian conflict has entered into its fourth year in which more than 1 lakh people has been killed and about 2.5 million people has fled from the country to the neighbouring countries.

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