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US SECRETARY of State John Kerry clashed with international observers today over Tuesday’s Syrian presidential election.
In Syrian capital Damascus, observers from over 30 countries, including legislators from Iran, Russia and Venezuela, said the election had been transparent and free and would pave the way for “stability and national agreement.”
But in Lebanese capital Beirut, Mr Kerry called the election “a great big zero.”
It could not be considered fair, he said, “because you can’t have an election where millions of your people don’t even have the ability to vote.”
The European Union joined the US in condemning the election, saying that “it cannot be considered a genuinely democratic vote.”
Speaker Jihad Laham of the Syrian parliament announced the final election results on Wednesday, saying President Bashar al-Assad had garnered 10,319,723 votes, or 88.7 per cent.
The Supreme Constitutional Court put the turnout at a substantial 73.42 per cent.
