(15 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Damascus, Syria – 15 July 2024
1. Voter casting her ballot into ballot box
2. Voter exiting voting booth
3. Various of voters casting ballots and registering to vote
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Qader Nahhas, voter:
"Today, the economic situation in the country is a really difficult reality and the workers are suffering so much. We hope that the members of parliament take this matter into consideration in their first session at the new legislative authority (assembly)."
5. Various of Nahhas registering and casting ballot
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Gamal al-Hagaly, voter:
"The parliament is the legislative authority. We need to enable this assembly in its best form so that it plays its role in the way that the Syrian people want. We are now at a critical stage. First of all, we need to exercise this right, everyone has to head to the ballot boxes and pick whomever they think is suitable."
7. Various of voters casting ballots
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bushra Mohamed, voter:
"I hope that the parliament members will convey our voice and our demands. For us, the parliamentary election is a constitutional right and hopefully, we will get it done today and everything will go peacefully. We wish the best for everyone."
9. Various of Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous casting vote
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hussein Arnous, Syrian Prime Minister:
"Today, we are counting on this parliament, we are going through a new phase and we are looking forward to building the modern Syria. And as you’ve noticed, there was a lot of dialogue between all segments of society to draw policies and directions for the coming stage. We wish the best of luck to the elected assembly and for it to be able to deal with the tasks assigned to it in the coming period as it is a reconstruction period. Today, we are establishing this phase."
11. Voters inside polling station
STORYLINE:
Syrians were voting for members of a new parliament in an election Monday that was expected to hold few surprises.
The vote is the fourth in Syria since the ongoing civil war that broke out in 2011.
After casting his ballot at a polling station in Damascus, Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous said this election comes as the country looks forward to "building the modern Syria."
The poll is taking place as Syria’s economy continues to deteriorate after years of conflict, Western-led sanctions, the COVID-19 pandemic and dwindling aid due to donor fatigue.
Voters told The Associated Press that fixing Syria’s hobbling economy is a key issue.
"Today, the economic situation in the country is a really difficult reality and the workers are suffering so much," said voter, Abdel Qader Nahhas.
Syria’s 2024 parliamentary election excludes rebel-held northwest Syria and the country’s northeast under U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The number of eligible voters hasn’t been announced either, and unlike presidential elections, the millions of diaspora Syrians — whose numbers have ballooned since the civil war — are not qualified to vote for the legislators.
This year, 1,516 government-approved candidates are running for the 250-seat People’s Assembly.
Some 8,151 polling stations were set up in 15 voting districts in government-held areas, with results expected to be announced Monday night or the following day.
In the last round of elections in 2020, the outcome was delayed for days due to technical issues, according to officials.
AP video shot by Abdelrahman Shaheen
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