Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Friday that those who participated in the presidential elections held on Wednesday provided the true meaning of revolution after it was tainted by "mercenaries." In a televised speech following the announcement of his victory with 95.1% of the vote, Assad stated, "You saved its reputation and relaunched it." The government considers the elections, which the opposition and the West have described as a farce, to demonstrate that Syria has returned to normal life despite a decade-long civil war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced 11 million people, about half the country's population.
Assad's victory grants him another seven years in power, extending his family's rule to nearly six decades. His father, Hafez, led Syria for 30 years until his death in 2000. Assad remarked, "You have redefined patriotism, and this automatically means redefining treason." The Assad era has become associated with a war that began in 2011 with peaceful demonstrations, which escalated into a multi-faceted conflict that has torn the country apart and attracted both enemies and allies from abroad.
With assistance from Russia and Iran, Assad has managed to crush armed opposition and regain control of more than 70% of the country's territory, but peace has yet to be achieved. Turkey controls land in the northwest, and many among the four million people living there, who fled from Assad's bombings, consider Ankara their protector. The United States has a small military presence in the northeast, bolstering Kurdish forces in an area that includes major oil fields and is where most of the country's wheat is grown.
Foreign ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Britain, and the United States criticized Assad before the elections, stating that the vote would not be free or fair. Turkey, also an opponent of Assad, declared the elections illegitimate. Conversely, China, Russia, and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah congratulated him on his victory. On Thursday, Assad dismissed those criticisms, asserting that his enemies had suffered from "mental blindness."
