Syrian Opposition Calls for Boycott of Presidential Elections

A man walks past a banner depicting Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, ahead of the May 26 presidential election, in Damascus, Syria May 22, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar
A man walks past a banner depicting Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, ahead of the May 26 presidential election, in Damascus, Syria May 22, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar
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Syrian Opposition Calls for Boycott of Presidential Elections

A man walks past a banner depicting Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, ahead of the May 26 presidential election, in Damascus, Syria May 22, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar
A man walks past a banner depicting Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, ahead of the May 26 presidential election, in Damascus, Syria May 22, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar

The Syrian Democratic Council (Masad) announced that it would not participate in the presidential elections on Wednesday, rejecting to play a role in an event that contravenes the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

The Syriac Union Party called on the Assyrian people and all Syrians to boycott the elections, while the Democratic Union Party said that holding presidential elections would not contribute to resolving the crisis, adding that half of the Syrians were refugees or displaced.

In a statement published on its official account on Monday, Masad said that it was not concerned with any elections that do not meet the aspirations of the Syrian people.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Elham Ahmad, the Council’s executive chair, said: “We will not be part of the electoral process and our position is constant: no elections before a political solution in accordance with international decisions, the release of detainees, and the return of the displaced.”

The Syriac Union Party, one of the Christian parties established for the Autonomous Administration east of the Euphrates and which receives support from the international coalition led by Washington, called on all the Assyrian Syriac people and all Syrians to boycott the elections.

“Presidential elections in Syria come with the aim of consolidating the regime’s influence and domination over the areas it controls; it is an attempt to give the regime a certain legitimacy,” the Union said in a statement.

As for the Syrian Democratic Union - one of the most prominent political parties in the eastern Euphrates - it emphasized that the present time was not suitable for holding presidential elections.

“The conditions the country is going through are unfavorable, and these elections do not contribute to solving the Syrian crisis,” it said in a statement.



Hamas Official Says Group Open to Freeing Hostages, Five-Year Truce in Gaza

08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
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Hamas Official Says Group Open to Freeing Hostages, Five-Year Truce in Gaza

08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)

Hamas is open to an agreement to end the Gaza war that would include the one-time release of all remaining hostages and a five-year cessation of hostilities, an official from the Palestinian group said Saturday.

"Hamas is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as a delegation from his group was set to meet mediators in Cairo later in the day.

On April 17, Hamas, which opposes a "partial" ceasefire agreement, rejected an Israeli proposal that included a 45-day truce in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.

The group has consistently demanded that a truce agreement must lead to the end of the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a prisoner exchange, and the immediate and sufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Israel, for its part, demands the return of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza -- the latter being a "red line" for the movement.

The war was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage that day, 58 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 who are dead, according to the Israeli army.

A truce from January 19 to March 17 allowed the return of 33 hostages to Israel, including eight who were deceased, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

According to figures published by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, at least 2,062 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive resumed on March 18, bringing the total death toll in Gaza to 51,439 since the start of the war.