Syria holds fourth parliamentary elections since 2011 uprising

For the fourth time since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, residents in government-controlled areas are going to the polls in what critics call an electoral farce to help shore up President Bashar al-Assad's standing.

Voting started on Monday in all 8,151 electoral centres distributed across 15 voting districts in government-held areas, with 1,516 candidates competing for the 250 seats in parliament.

"We are in a new phase in which we look forward to building a modern Syria," Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnos said, while casting his vote. The judge responsible for overseeing the elections told the state-run SANA news that the election "is proceeding in accordance with the provisions of the General Elections Law."

But a Syrian source said the vote is likely to produce new faces, but no surprises, as the majority of seats will be won by Al-Assad's ruling Al-Baath party. A Lebanon-based academic agreed.

It is "a farce in itself" that the Assad government is trying to restore its legitimacy in the country, Makram Rabbah, political anaylst and professor at the American University of Beirut told dpa.

"No one in their right mind can speak of democratic, transparent elections if the country is occupied by the Syrian dictatorship or foreign forces," said Rabbah.

In the last parliamentary elections in 2020, Assad’s Baath Party won 166 seats, in addition to 17 others from allied parties, and 67 seats went to independent candidates.

Safaa Ahmed, a teacher, told dpa that she wants accountability.

"We want the members of the People's Assembly to convey the truth about what the people are suffering and hold accountable the government that is negligent in serving the people."