Unrest-hit Syria votes in referendum on new constitution

Syria: Syrians went to the polls Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution that could end five decades of one-party rule that sparked protests which have taken the country to the verge of civil war.

Earlier this month, President Bashar al-Assad unveiled the proposed new national charter in his latest reform pledge since protests erupted last March, with the resulting violence killing more than 7,600 people, monitors say.

But the referendum, which opposition forces have called to boycott, has failed to ease global pressure on Assad, with the United States calling it “laughable.”

More than 14 million people over the age of 18 are eligible to vote at 13,835 polling stations, which opened for 12 hours at 7:00 am (0500 GMT). But with many parts of the country reeling under a campaign to crush the protests, and army defectors engaged in a guerrilla campaign against loyalist troops, it is unclear how the ballot can prove to be convincing.

The new constitution, framed by a committee of 29 people appointed by Assad, would drop the highly controversial Article 8 in the existing charter, which makes Assad’s Baath party “the head of state and society.”

AFP