89.4% Vote 'Yes' for New Syria Constitution
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Almost 90 percent of voters approved Syria's new constitution brought in after 11 months of anti-regime protests, the interior minister announced on Monday.
Mohammed al-Shaar also told a press conference that turnout reached 57.4 percent of eligible voters, with 89.4 percent of the 8.376 million who cast their ballots in Sunday's referendum saying "yes" to the new constitution.
"There has been a large turnout despite threats made by armed terrorist groups in some regions," the minister said, using a term employed by the authorities for rebels.
People went to polling stations "despite campaigns by treacherous media to stop citizens from exercising their rights and undermine the democratic process that took place freely and transparently," he added.
The opposition had called for a boycott of the referendum, while the United States described it as "laughable".
Shaar said the referendum had allowed the Syrian people "to decide its future and to understand that this constitution will allow it to achieve its aspirations in all areas."
In the rebel-held areas of Homs in central Syria and Idlib in the country's northwest, "terrorists tried to obstruct this operation but only partially succeeded," the minister said.
He said 753,000 people had voted against the new constitution, or nine percent, and there were 133,000 invalid ballots.
The new text ends the legal basis for the five-decade stranglehold on power of the ruling Baath party but leaves huge powers in the hands of President Bashar al-Assad who has faced a deadly revolt since last March.
27 February 2012, 17:24
24
"laughable"...........is the least to say! The Assad clan still think they can fool the people! Step down dude....exile before you end up like your friend khadafi. It not 'if' but rather 'when'. Tick-toc-tick-toc-tick-toc.....
27 February 2012, 17:25
26
A communist score. Oops, I meant a Baathist score! Nice joke bashar, one of your last ones!
27 February 2012, 18:32
10
I wonder, did Bashar and his bootylicious wife vote yes? only a total retard would vote yes to taking powers away from him!
27 February 2012, 18:59
10
9 millions cast their votes: what a joke. I guess bashar and his wife were the only people who voted with some Sabehah as well. This Assad is really a nerd! After all he looks so funny with his turtle neck I could not but laugh when I look at him in the news. He brings my stomach upside down. I refrain from reading the news after I have a meal scared of pucking all the food I ate.
27 February 2012, 19:09
10
it has nothing to do with the result 89% really ! it has to do with the fact that I'm voting with a gun to my head . and a bomb that just destroyed mt house . this is not a democracy it is a mockery of democracy . they are voting for new constitution they are voting because they told to vote or else ? what a joke
27 February 2012, 19:33
12
If it weren't for all the people dying in Syria I would have said this is laughing stuff! But seriously how can a whole ruling regime be soo naive...Who are they trying to fool? No one believes them!
27 February 2012, 20:15
12
yeah they bussed habal Amel and his familia, a few hundred thousand HA thugs ofcourse....
27 February 2012, 21:10
22
democracy? it allows bashar to stay in power another 16 years... that s democracy the M8 way!
28 February 2012, 05:46
10
spineless? the people who stand up to freedom against tank fire are nothing but spineless...the spineless are those that hide behind "resistance" weapons being used to rob cars into da7ye...that is spineless...
28 February 2012, 09:15
10
You get fooled easily don't you--READ first.
Aside from all but guaranteeing Bashar another 16 years, political parties have to get "approval" to get set up by a committee that is, guess what, still controlled by the Baathist party. So if someone runs on the platform of making the Baathist party illegal, chances are, they won't get approval. It is nothing but window dressing--if Bashar wanted to give up power, he would have done it already. He's not ready, and everyone knows this vote was a sham. How many democratic countries approve anything at 80% or more, anyway?
28 February 2012, 11:31
00
Not as much as your allies. They never used carpet bombing like the west do.
28 February 2012, 12:00
01
who is this tony kid? Does he represent the Lebanese mindset? If so, Lebanon needs to focus on education before anything else! We have less educated people in America too but at least they're educated enough to not wish for the demise or their own country. Supporting crazy wahabi monkeys in Syria for the sake of a nut like Gaga (the human freak) or Hariri (the dumbest man to every get involved in politics)? God help the Lebanese if people like Tony represent any significant fraction of the population.
28 February 2012, 14:54
00
What Naharnet has failed to identify here is the most important question of all.
Were the proceedings varified by international observers?!...
Because if they were, my friends then Assad has the support of most people in Syria and it can be varified by those observers.
If there were no observers then this whole thing may be just made up.
