Assad-controlled Judges, Parliament Approve Electoral Opponents

Syria is gearing up to hold its farcical general elections later this month, as on Monday the country’s constitutional court, appointed by dictator Bashar Assad, approved two puppet candidates to run against the murderous strongman. The two men, a former minister under Assad and a member of the government-authorized opposition, were chosen out of 50 applicants, 48 of which failed “to meet the constitutional and legal requirements,” such as living continuously in Syria for the past 10 years and receiving 35 signatures from the Assad-controlled parliament. May 26 will be the second time Syrians go to the polls since the nation’s civil war erupted in 2011. Close to half a million people have died during Assad’s Russian-backed crackdown against dissidents, with nearly 13 million either internally displaced or seeking refuge in other countries. Global democratic beacons such as Iran, Venezuela, China and Cuba will observe the elections.