Syrians in Lebanon Vote for President for 2nd Day
Hundreds of Syrians living in Lebanon have lined up outside their embassy near Beirut to vote ahead of their country's June 3 presidential election as expat balloting was extended for another day.
Expat voting in Lebanon was extended through Thursday after Syrian voters clashed with Lebanese troops outside the embassy the day before.
The situation around the hilltop embassy in the town of Yarze, southeast of Beirut, appeared more orderly on Thursday.
Lebanese troops patrolled the area as hundreds of people — some waving Syrian flags and holding Assad's photos — patiently waited in two lines to go into the embassy to vote.
Most voters appeared to be supporters of President Bashar Assad, who is widely expected to get a third seven-year term in the vote that has been criticized by the West and Syria's opposition because it is taking place amid a civil war.
Wrapped in a Syrian flag, one of the president's supporters in Lebanon said he was voting because he hoped the election would end the war and see life return to normal after more than three years of fighting that has killed an estimated 160,000 people.
"I hope Syria goes back to the way it was and that we will live in security and stability together, the way we used to," said the voter, who hails from the central city of Homs. He only gave his first name, Riad, for fear of harassment.
The conflict started in March 2011 as largely peaceful protests against Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for more than 40 years, but escalated into a civil war when some in the opposition took up arms after the government launched a brutal crackdown on dissent.
Source: Associated Press
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://mobile.naharnet.com/stories/en/132729 |