Syrians Vote on New Constitution, Activists Boycotting

Arutz Sheva ^ | 26/2/12 | Chana Yaark

[Eleutheria5]

Syrians are voting Sunday on the draft of a new constitution that would limit the presidency to two seven-year terms, beginning with this year. The new constitution also theoretically calls for the creation of a multi-party system.

Polls opened across the country at 7:00 a.m. Local time, and are scheduled to close 12 hours later. Some 14.6 million eligible voters have allegedly been asked to cast their ballots for or against the new constitution in more than 14,000 polling stations.

The document was drafted to quiet the critics of the government's brutal year-long violent campaign against civilians protesting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

But many are skeptical about whether the new constitution will hold any real validity, and numerous protesters said they were boycotting the vote.

Activist Mustafa Osso pointed out to reporters that in Syria, such laws are a sham: last year the Assad government revoked the official state of emergency in April, only to ratchet up the violence immediately thereafter.

Thus far on Sunday, violence was reported in the central city of Homs, where Assad forces have been using heavy artillery to besiege the city since February 4, particularly aiming at the Baba Amr district where many opposition forces have been centralized.

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[Eleutheria5]

What if Assad dies before 2028? Will he still be in office?