UN officials condemn plan to hold presidential election in Syria

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi have condemned the announcement that a presidential election will soon take place in Syria, in light of the current deteriorating situation.

The Syrian regime announced on Monday that it plans to hold a presidential election on 3 June despite the country being in the midst of a civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced around one third of its population.

Spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon Stephane Dujarric asserted that both officials are opposed to any such measure by the Syrian regime.

Dujarric said they have both “repeatedly warned that the holding of elections in the current circumstances, amid the ongoing conflict and massive displacement, will damage the political process and hamper the prospects for a political solution that the country so urgently needs.”

He continued: “Such elections are incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Geneva Communique.” However, he added that the UN would “nonetheless continue to search and build upon any opening for a solution to the tragedy in Syria.”

The Geneva Communique is an action plan that was adopted in June 2012 during the first international conference to end the Syrian conflict, calling for a political transition, parliamentarian elections and Constitutional amendments in the country.