MESOP FOCUS : THE FAKE OF A “NEW SYRIAN ELECTION LAW”

 Syria’s parliament approved a new election law Thursday allowing multiple candidates to run in elections, about four months ahead of the expiration of the seven-year term of President Bashar al-Assad. The move in theory opened the door for candidates to contest Assad, who has suggested he would run for another term, but hasn’t yet confirmed whether he will seek re-election. However, the legislation includes residency rules for candidates, which could bar from running most opposition leaders who have lived in exile, many since before the start of the uprising in March 2011.

U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said holding an election would jeopardize peace talks. He noted, “If there is an election, my suspicion is that the opposition — all the opposition — would probably not be interested in talking to the government.” He also mentioned that he wanted to continue the Geneva process. Local truces established between government and opposition forces around Damascus have restored calm and a degree of normality to several of the capital’s neighborhoods, however, they are fragile and have left much unresolved. Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem was hospitalized in the Lebanese capital of Beirut Thursday with a suspected blocked coronary artery. He is reportedly in stable condition and is scheduled to undergo bypass surgery.