President of war-torn nation Syria Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for another seven-year term of President on Saturday- July 17.
After declared winner by over than 95.1 per cent of the votes cast on the May 26 elections, the swearing-in ceremony held at the presidential palace in Damascus was attended by over 600 people from various walks-of-life of Syria.
However, al-Assad’s opponents and Western countries described the polls as illegitimate and a sham.
55-year-old al-Assad took over power in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad who had seized power in 1970 in a bloodless military coup.
The elections “have proven the strength of popular legitimacy that the people have conferred to the state,” said al-Assad in his fourth seven-year term inauguration speech.
The competition was symbolic, with two little-known candidates running against al-Assad.
War-torn nation Syria’s nearly half of the population is either displaced or living in neighbouring countries or Europe as refugees. The war has left tens of thousands missing and devastated the country’s infrastructure.
The United Nations estimates that more than 80 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line since the conflict began in 2011.
Al-Assad is supported by Iran and Russia but targeted by Westerns.
Syria is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. Its capital and largest city is Damascus.
(various sources)
