Syria is scheduled to hold presidential elections on May 26, with President Bashar al-Assad running for a fourth term of seven years. Assad faces two candidates, but many Syrians both inside the country and abroad see the vote as largely symbolic. Syrian embassies overseas started taking votes last week. Photojournalist Hamada Elrasam caught up with voters outside Syria’s embassy in Cairo, where he says people sang and danced as they prepared to cast their ballots, but notes the turnout numbers reflect a tiny percentage of the more than half-a-million Syrians living in Egypt.
Syria Holds Presidential Elections that Many See as Symbolic
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Rawaa Shaghleen, spokeswoman for the Syrian embassy in Cairo, said the embassy extended its hours until midnight to allow more voters to come. The Syrian government wants a high turnout to portray the elections as legitimate. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
