BEIRUT: Syria will hold a presidential election on June 3, the speaker of parliament said on Monday, setting a date for a vote likely to give President Bashar al-Assad a third term days after he said his forces were winning the country’s civil war.
Assad is facing a three-year-old conflict against his rule that has killed more than 150,000 people and forced millions from their homes.
Assad has not said whether he will stand in the election, but his allies in Russia and in Lebanon’s Shi’ite movement Hezbollah have predicted he will stand and win.
Speaker Mohamed Jihad al-Laham announced the election on Monday. (IANS)