Syria's Assad wins fourth term in election US calls fraudulent
By the regime's count, President Bashar al-Assad won 95.1% of the vote, handing him another seven-year term.
As widely expected, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been reelected for a fourth term after officials say he captured 95.1% of the vote in an election that the opposition and Western governments labeled a sham.
During a news conference late Thursday, parliament speaker Hammouda Sabbagh said more than 14 million Syrians participated in the election, making voter turnout about 78%. The results give 55-year-old Assad, who came to power in 2000 following the death of his father, the mandate to rule Syria until 2028.
