Title: Assad and Two Others' Presidential Candidacy Accepted

The Supreme Constitutional Court in Syria announced today the acceptance of three candidacy applications for the position of President of the Republic, while rejecting the remaining applications for failing to meet constitutional and legal requirements. Syrian Arab News Agency "SANA" quoted the head of the court, Mohamed Jihad Al-Laham, stating during a press conference today that the court decided in its preliminary announcement to accept the candidacies of Abdullah Salloum Abdullah, Bashar Hafez Assad, and Mahmoud Ahmad Marai for the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic, rejecting other applications for not meeting the constitutional and legal conditions. Al-Laham mentioned that those whose candidacy applications were rejected have the right to appeal to the court within three days starting from tomorrow morning, Tuesday. The nomination process for the elections ended last Wednesday, with 51 candidates submitting their applications, including Bashar Assad, seven women, and one candidate from the internal opposition. It is required for a candidate to receive 35 votes from the members of the People's Assembly, which has a total of 250 members, including 167 from the Ba'ath Party, 13 from the National Progressive Front, and 70 independent members. Voting for Syrians abroad has been scheduled for May 26, while voting inside the country will take place on May 28.