Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has registered to run in next month’s presidential vote, which is expected to return him to power despite the grinding conflict, the parliament speaker announced on Monday.
The election will be Syria’s first multi-candidate presidential vote, after changes to the constitution, but it has already been criticised by the opposition and much of the international community as a “farce”.
The government has not explained how it will hold the vote in a country gripped by a brutal war that has killed more than 150,000 people and left large swathes of territory beyond regime control.
Speaking at a session of parliament, speaker Mohamed al-Lahham read a letter from Assad announcing his candidacy.
“I, citizen Bashar Hafez al-Assad, wish to present my candidacy for the post of president of the republic,” the document said.
A posting on the presidency’s official Facebook page quoted Assad as calling on supporters of different candidates to express themselves through the ballot box.
“Those who wish to express their joy and support for any candidate for the presidency should do so in a responsible, patriotic way, first, and secondly, through the ballot box in a timely fashion,” he said.
“I call on all Syrian citizens to refrain from firing in the air in joy, whatever the occasion might be, especially as Syria will be having its first election in modern history.”
In Damascus, as children left school, dozens of young girls and boys chanted their approval of his candidacy, shouting “God, Bashar, and that’s all”.
Assad is expected to sail to victory against the six other candidates who have so far announced their runs, one of them a woman.
They are all largely unknown, except for one member of parliament, and it remains unclear how they will angle their campaigns against Assad.
