The Presidential election committee in Syria continued counting the votes after the ballot boxes were closed on Wednesday at 24:00 p.m.
Member of the committee, Mokhles Qayseye, indicated that the vote-counting started just after the ballot boxes were closed, adding that the duration which the process will require cannot be identified.
The committee hailed the Syrian people’s commitment to the election with all its legal stipulations without any violation.
Thousands of Syrians headed to polling stations early Wednesday to vote in a presidential election set to end a strong message to the West.
The vote is the second presidential election since the country’s conflict began 10 years ago.
Beside President Bashar Al-Assad, two other candidates are running for the country’s top post.
They are little known figures, Abdullah Salloum Abdullah and Mahmoud Ahmad Marie. But competition with Assad is largely seen as symbolic in a country where elections are.
Starting at 7 a.m., thousands began arriving at polling stations in Damascus, thronging streets festooned with giant posters of Assad and banners praising his rule.
“We choose the future. We choose Bashar Assad,” read one of thousands of banners raised in the capital Damascus.
“I am here to vote because it is a national duty to choose a president who will lead us in the coming period,” said civil servant Muhannad Helou, 38, who said he voted for Assad.
Al-Assad is expected to win another term in office considering his overwhelming popularity across the country.
Source: SANA
