Syria hails big turnout in presidential poll

Voting extended for five hours in first Syrian election for 50 years, which incumbent Assad seems certain to win....

Syrians are voting in a presidential election which the incumbent Bashar al-Assad is widely expected to win.
State television said on Tuesday that voting had been extended for five hours "because of the massive influx of voters". Polls will now close at 9pm GMT.

• Voting is only taking place in government-controlled territories, meaning those displaced by fighting or living in rebel-held areas will not be able to take part.

The opposition has dismissed the vote as a "farce" that will prolong the country's three-year conflict. The vote excludes regime opponents from running.

The US called the election a disgrace, saying Assad "has no more credibility today than he did yesterday."

• The election is Syria's first in nearly 50 years. Assad and his father Hafez have renewed their mandates in referendums.

Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from the Al Masnaa border crossing in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, said: "The opposition says this is a farce, they don't recognise these elections. They say there is no way it could be legitimate while civil war is raging in the country, while it's being organised by the same president they want to overthrow.
Syrian television showed Assad casting his ballot at a school in the Damascus neighbourhood of al-Maliki. He was accompanied by his wife, Asma.
Assad faces two practically unknown competitors - Maher al-Hajjad and Hassan al-Nuri.
Nuri, who studied in the US and speaks English, told the AFP news agency he expected to come second after Assad.
Both he and Hajjar have only lightly criticised Assad's rule, for fear of being linked to an opposition that has been branded "terrorist" by the regime. The two men are, instead, focusing on corruption and economic policy.

The vote takes place as the war continues, with the air force bombarding rebel areas in Aleppo and fierce fighting in Hama, Damascus, Idlib and Daraa.

More than 15 million Syrians will be able to cast their vote in 11,000 ballot boxes distributed in more than 9,000 offices, which will be open from 7am to 7pm local time.

• Observers from countries allied to the regime - North Korea, Iran and Russia - are supervising the election, while a security plan has reportedly been put in place in Syrian cities to prevent possible attacks against voters and polling stations.

 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies 
3/6/14
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