Assad casts ballot as Syria holds parliament elections

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cast his ballot on Wednesday for the country's parliament elections, which started earlier Wednesday, according to state news agency SANA.

Al-Assad along with his wife, Asma, showed up at the Assad Library in central Damascus on Wednesday and cast their votes, said SANA, publishing photos of the president and his wife at the polling station in the library.

Syria's parliamentary elections began on Wednesday, with some 3,500 candidates vying for the 250 parliamentary seats amid a boycott by opposition groups.

A total of 7,300 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) in government-controlled areas across the country, the national Syrian TV said.

Authorities said the elections will continue till 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) Wednesday, adding that the balloting could be extended for five hours depending on the turnout.

Election sub-committees in government-controlled provinces announced full readiness to facilitate the voting process.

In capital Damascus, there are about 1,500 polling centers in addition to 540 polling stations for people from the provinces of Deir al-Zour, al-Raqqa, Idlib, Aleppo, and Daraa, which are largely not controlled by the government.

In February, President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree to hold a parliamentary election on April 13.

The Syrian government said the elections are set for the usual time as Syrian government holds such elections every four years.

The last parliamentarian elections were held in 2012, just months after the adoption of a new constitution in the war-torn country. Endit