Syria: polls open, Assad's umpteenth victory granted

(ANSA-AFP) - DAMASCUS, MAY 26 - Electoral polls open throughout Syria for elections with a foregone conclusion that will almost certainly deliver a four-mandate to President Bashar al-Assad.

    State television showed long queues forming in different parts of the country where about 12,000 seats are located. Results are expected to be announced by Friday evening, 48 hours after closing.

    The challengers of 55-year-old Assad, in power since 2000 are ex-minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmoud Merhi, a member of the so-called "tolerated opposition", which opposition leaders in exile have often branded as an extension of the regime. The United States and the European Union have already liquidated the elections as a farce. (ANSA-AFP).