Syria court accepts Assad’s presidential nomination bid
A Syrian court said on Sunday it had accepted requests from President Bashar al-Assad and two others to be nominated to run in a presidential election next month.
Assad’s challengers are unlikely to pose a serious threat in the June 3 vote, which his international opponents and the rebels fighting to overthrow him dismissed as a farce.
Syria’s opposition leaders in exile are barred from standing by a constitutional clause requiring candidates to have lived in the country continuously for 10 years.
The constitution also says candidates must have the backing of 35 members of the pro-Assad parliament, effectively ruling out dissenting voices from the campaign.
The Supreme Constitutional Court had accepted nomination requests from Assad as well as Hassan Abdallah al-Nouri and lawmaker Maher Abdel-Hafiz Hajjar, court spokesman Majid Khadra said in statements broadcast on state television.
He said those whose requests had been rejected had a right to appeal to the court from May 5 until May 7.