DAMASCUS, May 26. / TASS /. Syrian citizens have been actively gathering at polling stations in Damascus since Wednesday morning to vote in the presidential elections, a TASS correspondent stated after visiting a ballot station at the Antiochian Orthodox Church’s school in the capital Bab Tuma’s Christian quarter.
As of 10 a.m. Moscow Time, nearly 300 people have already cast their vote, while up to 5,000 voters are expected during the day, according to the spokesperson for the election commission.
The voting procedure is standard: after checking the documents, voters get a ballot with the portraits of three candidates. Voters have an opportunity to choose an open or secret ballot. It is noteworthy that most residents chose the first option. After the voter ticks the box, the ballot is placed in an envelope and put in the box. Then the residents dip their fingers into an ink container in order to confirm that they voted only once. As the spokesperson for the election commission explained, the ink is resistant and lasts for about two days. A TASS correspondent proved it while failed trying, for the sake of experiment, to wash it off with an alcoholic antiseptic.
Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East also visited the polling station. In particular, he expressed hope that the elections would bring peace to Syria, noting that Christians did not feel suppressed here.
"Now is a crucial time for Syria. We need a strong and good president," Hieromonk Vasily told TASS in an interview.
Presidential elections kicked off in Syria on Wednesday. Three candidates are running for president: incumbent President Bashar al-Assad, former MP and Socialist Unionists Party candidate Abdullah Sallum Abdullah and internal opposition delegation member Mahmoud Ahmed Merei. Voting takes place at 12,102 polling stations, which opened at 07:00 a.m. and will close at 07:00 p.m.