UN: Syria's presidential election hinder political solution

Bashar Al-Assad’s plan to hold presidential elections in the current circumstances undermine efforts to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria, the United Nations said yesterday.

The UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric quoted the UN chief as saying that “under the current circumstances, the election will damage the political process and hamper the prospect for a political solution that the country so urgently needs.”

Dujarric said: “The Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi have warned against holding the elections under the current circumstances, in the midst of the conflict and mass displacement, as they will hurt the political process and obstruct prospects for a political solution.”

Dujarric noted that “such elections are incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Geneva communiqué.”

The UN Working Group on Syria which includes the UN Security Council’s five permanent members, Turkey and the Arab League reached the Geneva I agreement in June 2012. It called to resolve the Syrian crisis politically by forming a transition government, holding parliamentary elections and amending the constitution but did not mention the fate of the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad sparking international and regional disagreements over its validity.