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              Syrians Vote with Little Contest Expected for Assad

   by VOA News

   Syrians are voting Tuesday in an election that is expected to give
   President Bashar al-Assad a landslide victory for a new term as a
   deadly civil war continues to rage across the country.

   The Syrian opposition and its Western allies have denounced the
   election, which pits Assad against two little-known,
   government-approved candidates.

   Syria's Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi urged people to vote, calling
   Tuesday a "historic day" for Syria that he said will put the country on
   the path to recovery.

   Rebel fighters have battled for more than three years to oust Assad
   from office.

   He has been in power since 2000, when he became president following the
   death of his father. He was the only candidate on the ballot when he
   won his second term in 2007.

   His forces carried out a crackdown against peaceful anti-government
   protests in March 2011, which came along with the wave of so-called
   Arab Spring demonstrations that were sweeping the region.

   The fighting escalated into a war that activists say has killed more
   than 160,000 people.  The United Nations says 2.8 million Syrians have
   fled to neighboring countries to escape the conflict, while 6.5 million
   others are displaced within Syria.

   International efforts to resolve the conflict, including a face-to-face
   peace conference earlier this year, have yielded little result.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/syrians-vote-with-little-contest-expe
   cted-for-assad/1928137.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/syrians-vote-with-little-contest-expected-for-assad/1928137.html