Editing Elections in Syria (section)

=== 2012 Constitution ===
Soon after the outbreak of the [[Syrian civil war]], the Syrian government approved the [[2012 Constitution of Ba'athist Syria|2012 Syrian constitution]] after [[2012 Syrian constitutional referendum|a constitutional referendum]]. Article 88 introduced presidential electoral limits to a maximum of one re-election.<ref name="SANA2012" /> Also, the constitution no longer specified the Ba'ath party as a vanguard, and instead allowed for a multi-party system.<ref name="SANA2012">{{Cite web |url=http://sana.sy/eng/370/2012/02/28/401178.htm |title=SANA Syrian News Agency - Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic Approved in Popular Referendum on February 27, 2012, Article 8 |access-date=October 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014034300/http://sana.sy/eng/370/2012/02/28/401178.htm |archive-date=October 14, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nonetheless, Ba'ath party remains the sole arbitrer in publicizing electoral lists for candidacy.<ref name="Awad">{{Cite journal |last=Awad, Favier |first=Ziad, Agnès |date=30 April 2020 |title=Elections in Wartime: The Syrian People’s Council (2016-2020) |url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/66949/RPR_2020_07.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |journal=Middle East Directions |publisher=European University Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129205045/https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/66949/RPR_2020_07.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |archive-date=29 January 2021 |via=cadmus.eui.eu}}</ref>

By theoretically permitting non-Ba'athist activities, the government was able to mobilize recruits and militias from anti-opposition political parties at a time when regime's prospects for survival looked bleak in the [[Syrian civil war]].

Once [[Assad regime]] gained military edge in its favour, the state relinquished the accommodations and effectively restored the [[One-party system|one-party state]]. In March 2015, President Assad signed General Elections Law No.5, which replaced previous election laws.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Georges|first1=Nael|title=Election Law in Syria|url=http://legal-agenda.com/en/article.php?id=2999|publisher=The Legal Agenda|access-date=25 November 2016}}</ref> The government then pursued an intense Baathification campaign with ideological vigor, such as packing the legislature with [[Syrian Arab Army|Ba'athist army]] officers and commanders of [[Ba'ath Brigades]] since the [[2016 Syrian parliamentary election|2016 parliamentary elections]]. The government also disbanded non-Ba'athist militias and sidelined satellite parties of the [[National Progressive Front (Syria)|National Progressive Front]] by increasing Ba'athist representation in the legislature.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abdul-Jalil, Moghrabi |first=Murad, Yamen |date=3 July 2020 |title=Al-Assad attempts to boost "Ba'ath" vigor to tighten control |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2020/07/al-assad-attempts-to-boost-baath-vigor-to-tighten-control/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706222249/https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2020/07/al-assad-attempts-to-boost-baath-vigor-to-tighten-control/ |archive-date=6 July 2020 |website=Enab Baladi}}</ref><ref name="Clapping">{{Cite web |last=Shaar, Akil |first=Karam, Samy |date=28 January 2021 |title=Inside Syria's Clapping Chamber: Dynamics of the 2020 Parliamentary Elections |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/inside-syrias-clapping-chamber-dynamics-2020-parliamentary-elections#footnote-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128162146/https://www.mei.edu/publications/inside-syrias-clapping-chamber-dynamics-2020-parliamentary-elections |archive-date=28 January 2021 |website=Middle East Institute}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lucas |first=Scott |date=25 February 2021 |title=How Assad Regime Tightened Syria’s One-Party Rule |url=https://eaworldview.com/2021/02/how-assad-regime-tightened-syrias-one-party-rule/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225110507/https://eaworldview.com/2021/02/how-assad-regime-tightened-syrias-one-party-rule/ |archive-date=25 February 2021 |work=EA Worldview}}</ref>

As such, the United Nations continued to condemn Syrian elections, including its presidential elections in 2014 and 2021.<ref>{{cite news |date=28 May 2014 |title=Syrians in Lebanon battle crowds to vote for Bashar al-Assad |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/28/syrians-lebaanon-vote-assad-embassies-refugees-boycott |access-date=9 November 2017 |website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=16 July 2014 |title=Bashar al-Assad sworn in for a third term as Syrian president |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10970476/Bashar-al-Assad-sworn-in-for-a-third-term-as-Syrian-president.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10970476/Bashar-al-Assad-sworn-in-for-a-third-term-as-Syrian-president.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |access-date=17 December 2016 |website=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kossaify |first=Ephrem |date=22 April 2021 |title=UN reiterates it is not involved in Syrian presidential election |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1846771/%7B%7B |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422181511/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1846771/middle-east |archive-date=22 April 2021 |work=Arab News}}</ref> These elections were only held in government-controlled territories due to the ongoing Syrian civil war. Overall, elections continue to be [[Sham election|sham process]], characterized by wide-scale [[Rigging election|rigging]], repetitive voting and absence of [[voter registration]] and verification systems.<ref name="Clapping" /><ref name="Awad" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Abdel Nour |first=Aymen |date=24 July 2020 |title=Syria’s 2020 parliamentary elections: The worst joke yet |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/syrias-2020-parliamentary-elections-worst-joke-yet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128170936/https://www.mei.edu/publications/syrias-2020-parliamentary-elections-worst-joke-yet |archive-date=28 January 2021 |website=Middle East Institute}}</ref>