Sona Hakobyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Syria will hold presidential elections on June 3. Unlike 2007, several candidates will run for President. Although it’s hard to say how the elections will be organized and conducted in a war-torn country, expert in Arabic studies Sargis Grigoryan is confident incumbent President Bashar Al-Assad will win. He does not exclude that the elections may be cancelled because of the war.
Speaking about presidential elections in a country where military actions are underway is naive, Sargis Grigoryan said, adding that the events in Syria are civil war, not revolution. “What’s happening in Syria is a civil war between the government forces and the opposition – the radical Islamist groups. There are fears that if the latter win, this will split not only Syria, but also the whole Middle Eastern region.
For the first time in Syrian history a female candidate has been nominated; there will no opposition representatives running in the elections. Irrespective of the number of candidates, Sargis Grigoryan is confident that Bashar Al-Assad will be reelected.
“Many experts predict that Bashar Al-Assad will again be reelected, and nothing will change at large. Elections will be held in areas controlled by the government forces. There will be no voting in the regions under the control of the opposition,” he said.
