Polls open in Syrian presidential election

Published June 3, 2014
A man holds a portrait of President Bashar Assad and a national flag at a polling station in Damascus, Syria,  June 3, 2014. Polls opened in government-held areas in Syria amid very tight security Tuesday for the country's presidential election, a vote that President Bashar Assad is widely expected to win. — Photo by AP
A man holds a portrait of President Bashar Assad and a national flag at a polling station in Damascus, Syria, June 3, 2014. Polls opened in government-held areas in Syria amid very tight security Tuesday for the country's presidential election, a vote that President Bashar Assad is widely expected to win. — Photo by AP

DAMASCUS: Syrians began voting on Tuesday in an election expected to deliver an overwhelming victory to President Bashar al-Assad in the midst of a civil war that has fractured the country and killed more than 160,000 people.

Polling stations opened at 7 am in parts of Syria under Assad's government control.

Assad is running against two relatively unknown challengers who were approved by parliament to participate in the election, which the president's international opponents have dismissed as a sham.

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