Assad undecided on re-election
Print Edition
Syrian President Bashar Assad said it’s still too early to say whether he’ll run for re-election next year, but that he would refrain from seeking a third term — if he feels that’s what most Syrians want him to do.
Regarding a potential bid for another seven-year term, “the picture will be clearer” in the next four to five months because Syria is going though “rapid” changes on the ground, Assad said in an interview with Turkey’s private Halk TV.
Assad has been president since 2000 when he took over after his father, Hafez Assad, died after ruling Syria for three decades. His second seven-year-term ends in mid-2014.
Syria’s opposition wants Assad to step down and hand over power to a transitional government until new elections are held. Despite the bloody conflict, Assad still enjoys wide support among minorities, including Christians and members of his Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
“If I have a feeling that the Syrian people want me to be president in the coming period I will run for the post,” he said. “If the answer is no, I will not run and I don’t see a problem in that.”
Assad used the interview to attack Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warning Ankara will pay “a high price” for allowing foreign fighters to enter Syria from its territory to fight the Syrian government forces.
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