DAMASCUS, Syria, April 28 (UPI) -- President Bashar Al-Assad will seek a third term as president of Syria in the June 3 election, the speaker of the Syrian Parliament announced Monday.
Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Lahham added four more candidates would contest the election, bringing the total to seven. Assad’s plan to run was not a surprise; he is expected to win, despite a violent, three-year uprising against his administration, against five relatively unknown candidates. It remains to be seen if this war-torn country, with over a million refugees already escaped, can support a successful election.