Assad wins Syrian election with 88.7% of vote
Celebratory machine gun fire ripples across Damascus as results announced
Employees counting the votes of the three candidates in Syrian presidential elections following to the closure of the polls in Damascus, Syria, early on Wednesday. Photograph: EPA
Syria’s parliament yesterday announced that incumbent Bashar al-Assad won Tuesday’s presidential election, winning 88.7 per cent of the vote (10.3 million votes).
An hour before the final result was proclaimed a rising ripple of celebratory machine-gun fire rolled across Damascus after Syrian television declared 73.4 per cent, or 11.6 million of Syria’s 15 million registered voters had cast ballots in Tuesday’s presidential election.