Syria's Supreme Constitutional Court Finalizes List of Candidates for Presidential Election

A picture of President Bashar al-Assad in Arnous Square in Damascus yesterday (AFP)
A picture of President Bashar al-Assad in Arnous Square in Damascus yesterday (AFP)
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Syria's Supreme Constitutional Court Finalizes List of Candidates for Presidential Election

A picture of President Bashar al-Assad in Arnous Square in Damascus yesterday (AFP)
A picture of President Bashar al-Assad in Arnous Square in Damascus yesterday (AFP)

Syria's Supreme Constitutional Court has accepted three candidates for the presidential elections, including Abdullah Salloum Abdullah, Bashar Hafez al-Assad and Mahmoud Ahmad Marai.

The Chief of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, announced earlier that the court received six applications of complaint by the candidates whose applications to run for election were rejected.

He noted that the Court General Panel studied the complaints but rejected them.

He added that the court set the election campaign for the candidates from May 16 to 24.

The elections will be held for expatriates at Syrian consulates and embassies on May 20, and for the Syrians inside the country on May 26.

Notably, 51 people had submitted their applications for the elections.

Abdullah, 1956, from Aleppo, is a member of the Socialist Unionist Party and a member of the parliament for two cycles.

Marai, 1957, from Damascus countryside, is the head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights and secretary-general of the National Front for the Liberation of Syria.

Assad, 1965, was elected as a president in 2001, 2007, and 2014.



US Targets Lebanon’s Hezbollah with New Sanctions

FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
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US Targets Lebanon’s Hezbollah with New Sanctions

FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
FILE - Hezbollah fighters shout slogans during the funeral procession of their top commander Fouad Shukur, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike on July 30, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

The United States targeted two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators with new sanctions on Thursday for their role in coordinating financial transfers to the Lebanese group that is backed by Iran, the Treasury Department said.

The latest sanctions come as President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had "sort of" agreed to the terms.

Trump said Wednesday that he believed the moment was ripe for Lebanon to have a “future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists.”

The people targeted were based in Lebanon and Iran and worked to get money to Hezbollah from overseas donors, the department said in a statement.

Treasury said overseas donations make up a significant portion of the group's budget.

Thursday's action highlights Hezbollah's "extensive global reach through its network of terrorist donors and supporters, particularly in Tehran," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities."