Syria's National Progressive Front (NPF) coalition led by the ruling Baath party has romped to victory as expected in legislative elections, the interior minister announced today.
All 167 of the seven-party NPF's candidates were elected to the 250-seat People's Assembly. Independent candidates carried the remaining 83 seats.
But just 63.5 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in the contest which was boycotted by five opposition parties, the minister said, comparing it to the previous poll in 1998 when participation was 82 per cent.
The elections were Syria's first legislative poll since President Bashar al-Assad took office in July 2000 following the death of his father and predecessor, Hafez al-Assad.
His Baath party has governed Syria since 1963 and emerged dominant in every election over the past 30 years.
Among the boycotting parties was that of communist militant Riad Turk. He was released from prison last November following a presidential pardon, after having spent much of the past 20 years behind bars.
In the runup to the elections, the opposition groups had been hoping for a new law to make their political parties legal.
The Committees for the Defence of Human Rights in Syria said the turnout was lower than the last polls because "the people no longer trust an inefficient parliament, particularly in the absence of substantial (political) changes".
Two independent MPs were jailed last year for demanding political reforms, it noted in a statement.
A total of 4,945 candidates were contesting the vote to represent Syria's 15 provinces, while the electorate numbered 10.8 million people.
AFP