Syria pursues military crackdown, holds referendum
Authors: Nehal El-Sherif, Ramadan Al-Fatash
26.02.2012
Damascus/Cairo (dpa) - Syria held a referendum on a new constitution on Sunday as government forces shelled restive areas and clashed with rebel fighters seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
The opposition boycotted the vote, saying it was "stained with blood" and dismissed as a sham claims that the new constitution opens the door for political pluralism.
Al-Assad and his wife Asma cast their votes in a polling station inside the heavily secured Syrian state television building in Damascus, near the presidential palace.
People went to polling stations in central Damascus, though turnout was remarkably low in suburban districts of the capital like Barzeh, where anti-government sentiment runs high.
"I came and voted in favour of the new constitution, as this vote will contribute to a better future for Syria, and bring back security and stability to my family," said Huda Abu-Saleh, a school teacher in Damascus.
A voter in the Qudssaya district north-west of Damascus who identified himself as Mohammed said: "It does not represent me, and I think it does not represent millions of Syrians who want to move toward a brighter and democratic future."
The vote was held as the Syrian army pressed on with a military offensive in restive areas, killing at least 34 people, activists said.
The opposition Local Coordination Committees said most of the deaths occurred in the central city of Homs, which has been besieged and shelled by government forces since February 3.
Activists also reported clashes between rebel fighters and government troops in Homs and in the southern city of Daraa, near the border with Jordan.
The Syrian crisis is approaching one year with no end in sight.
Videos posted online showed Syrians in Homs and the rebel stronghold northern city of Idlib mocking the vote by setting up their own polling stations.
People were also seen throwing mock ballot papers in rubbish bins.
"On this day, we enter a new democratic phase, and Syria becomes much stronger than before," Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told reporters after he cast his vote at the ministry's headquarters in Damascus.
The government on Sunday sent text messages to mobile phones urging Syrians to take part in "Marches of loyalty" to al-Assad's regime.
More than 14,000 polling stations opened nationwide for about 15 million eligible voters, the Interior Ministry said.
The new constitution allows the establishment of political parties other than the governing Baath, which has been ruling Syria since 1963.
The opposition has said it would accept nothing less than al-Assad's resignation.
