REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MOSCOW -- The recent presidential elections in Syria took place in a democratic atmosphere and were consistent with international standards, said Igor Morozov, Member of the Russian Federation Council.
Morozov was member of the Russian mission, among others from friendly countries, that oversaw the electoral process.
Elections for president took place on June 3 with parliamentary delegations from friendly countries observing the vote upon the invitation of the People's Assembly.
Morozov said that the Syrian leadership has done all in its power for the elections-the first multi-candidate race in the country's modern history- to run smoothly, noting the massive turnout of voters "who flocked early in the morning to queue in long lines, awaiting to cast their votes."
The Russian official said President Bashar al-Assad came out as the undeniable winner in the race in which two other candidates vied and who, he added "were allowed to campaign on an equal footing as President al-Assad."
Attributing the "high voter turnout" to the fact that those who failed to cast their votes in their provinces headed to other areas to do so, Morozov said "we can proclaim that presidential elections in Syria were legitimate and in line with international standards."
Antoine Lupatine, member of the Central Committee for Elections in Russia, echoed a similar view as he said president al-Assad's challengers in the vote "had representatives at all polling stations who testified to sweeping popularity that President al-Assad enjoys."
Asked about Western litany of allegations which sought to call the legitimacy of elections into question, Lupatine dismissed them as "ready-made'' saying in an interview with SANA reporter in Moscow that "they had been made even before the voting began."
"Elections were free, fair and well-organized?and voters turned out in big numbers with high spirits," he added.
President al-Assad was "granted yet a new public mandate from the masses," Morozov said in a similar press statement.
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