Syria Polls Signify Public Support for Political Solution to Crisis: Analyst
DAMASCUS (Tasnim) – The massive turnout of voters in Syria’s presidential elections sent out a strong signal that Syrians are favoring a political approach to the settlement of the prolonged crisis in their country, a prominent journalist and the Middle East expert said.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Ghassan bin Jiddo, director of the Lebanese-based Al Mayadeen TV channel, stressed that results of the presidential votes in Syria exceeded all expectations.
“The turnout of more than 74 percent in Syria elections is outstanding,” Jiddo said, adding that he personally witnessed Syrians’ enthusiastic participation in the polls.
Bashar al-Assad won a landslide victory in the June 3 presidential poll with 88.7 percent of the vote, securing another seven-year term.
A total of 10.2 million people voted for Assad. The voter turnout stood at 73.42 percent. Meantime, Syria’s Higher Judicial Committee for Elections stated that not any violations have been reported during the polls.
Elsewhere in the interview, Jiddo noted that the coverage of people’s widespread presence by the media in the voting could very well thwart the propaganda campaign launched by the Western media outlets, which are seeking to question the high turnout of voters.
The Arab journalist further referred to Bashar al-Assad as the one who can guarantee Syria’s integrity and secure the Syrian organizations’ solidarity.
Serving as director of Beirut-based satellite television channel, Al Mayadeen, Jiddo is known as an influential figure among the Arab media outlets.
