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                 Syrian Opposition Meets to Pick Prime Minister

   by VOA News

   The opposition Syrian National Coalition is meeting in Turkey to elect
   a prime minister tasked with running rebel-held areas of Syria.
   A vote is expected by Tuesday, though several previous attempts to pick
   a leader have failed.
   The coalition hopes forming a rebel government will help stabilize the
   rebel territory, and chairman George Sabra said Monday in Istanbul that
   picking a prime minister could also help those who have been displaced
   by the crisis. "I think this is the time for the government to be born
   on a steady ground.  We are in need for this kind of government for
   executive missions inside the free area in Syria and also in the
   refugee camps in the countries around Syria," he said.
   Some opposition figures have criticized the move to pick a prime
   minister, saying the group should instead form an executive body to
   oversee rebel affairs or agree to a transitional government that
   includes members of the Syrian government.
   More than 100 countries have recognized the opposition coalition as the
   legitimate representative of the Syrian people, including the United
   States, Britain, France and Turkey.
   Favorites in the opposition prime minister vote include economist Osama
   Kadi, businessman Ghassan Hitto and former Syrian agriculture minister
   Assad Asheq Mustafa.
   Kadi is the founder of the Washington-based research group Syrian
   Center for Political and Strategic Studies.  Hitto has worked as a
   communications executive in the southern U.S. state of Texas.
   Mustafa appears to be the only major contender who served as a Syrian
   minister during the rule of President Bashar al-Assad's family before
   defecting to the opposition.  He was the country's agriculture minister
   under Assad's father.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-opposition-meets-to-pick-prime
   -minister/1623489.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-opposition-meets-to-pick-prime-minister/1623489.html