Syrian election neither ‘free nor fair’, Western leader say
The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the US have tonight denounced tomorrow’s presidential elections in Syria, saying the vote will be neither “free nor fair”.
With the Syrian civil war now into its eleventh year, the ministers criticised incumbent leader Bashar al-Assad’s decision to hold a vote.
They said that the international community should “unequivocally reject this attempt by the Assad regime to regain legitimacy”.
The foreign ministers join the United Nations in rejecting the election, which it does not consider part of the peace process for ending the conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, with millions more displaced. by the violence, triggering one of the worst refugee crises on record.
The full statement read:
We, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America wish to make clear that Syria’s May 26 presidential election will neither be free nor fair. We denounce the Assad regime’s decision to hold an election outside of the framework described in UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and we support the voices of all Syrians, including civil society organisations and the Syrian opposition, who have condemned the electoral process as illegitimate.
As outlined in the Resolution, free and fair elections should be convened under UN supervision to the highest international standards of transparency and accountability. For an election to be credible, all Syrians should be allowed to participate, including internally displaced Syrians, refugees, and members of the diaspora, in a safe and neutral environment.
Without these elements, this fraudulent election does not represent any progress towards a political settlement. We urge the international community to unequivocally reject this attempt by the Assad regime to regain legitimacy without ending its grave human rights violations and meaningfully participating in the UN-facilitated political process to end the conflict.
We reiterate our firm support for the UN Special Envoy for Syria’s efforts to promote a political settlement, based on all aspects of UNSCR 2254, which protects the future prosperity and the rights of all Syrians, including the right to vote in free and fair elections.
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