Today, thousands of protesters gathered at the Seven Fountain roundabout in the city of Idlib rejecting the Syrian presidential elections that began the same day in regime held areas.
The demonstrators chanted slogans like, freedom and dignity, and declared an absolute rejection of what they described as a “theatrical election” orchestrated by a war criminal.
Activists in northwestern Syria began preparing for the central demonstration a few days ago, during which more than 2,000 pieces of the revolution’s flag were made. Similar demonstrations and events preceded in other parts of the liberated areas and some regime areas in Daraa.
An elderly woman and mother of 3 martyrs, when asked why she had come to today’s protest, replied: “We came to say no to Bashar, he displaced us, killed our children. I have 3 of my sons as martyrs, and these are their daughters, they are now orphans. We don’t want Bashar we want freedom”.
Ahmad Ali, Levant 24’s correspondent who was covering the event said that multiple public and private organizations sent their delegations to the protest, as well as men, women, children, and elderly from different parts of Syria.
The regime’s presidential elections which began today was rejected by the majority of Syrians who live outside of regime controlled areas and even in areas under his control such as is Daraa province.
Pictures circulated on the regime’s media platforms showing Syrians and government officials at polling stations, while Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma went to the city of Douma to cast their vote. The head of the regime said on Wednesday, his country is “not concerned” about calls from Western countries that the presidential election, which is likely to ensure his fourth seven-year term, is illegitimate.
On the international level, a joint statement from top diplomats from the US, UK, France, Germany, and Italy was released condemning Assad regime-mandated presidential election in Syria, saying it will be neither “free nor fair”. In a statement, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry described today’s election in Assad-controlled Syria as “illegitimate,” adding that it does “not reflect the free will of the people.”
