Syrian Lawmakers Approve New Election Law

Local Editor

Syria's parliament on Thursday approved a new election law which for the first time in decades allows multiple candidates to run for president, just months before the war-torn nation heads to the polls.

The new law stipulates that candidates must have lived in Syria for 10 consecutive years.

Damascus has not officially announced a presidential election but Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to seek a new seven-year term in the middle of this year.

The election must be held between 60 and 90 days before the end of al-Assad's term on July 17.

The bill aims, based on article 2, at regulating the election of the president, members of the parliament and members of the local administration councils.
The bill also regulates popular referendums and securing the voters' right to elect their representatives freely and fairly.

The People's Assembly approved articles from 10 to 60 on the tasks of the Supreme Judicial Committee, the nomination and elections' committees, constituencies and the number of their seats, the general elections' record and the conditions and measures pertaining to the presidential, parliamentary and local administrations' elections.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team