More than 50% Turnout in Syrian Vote

Voter turnout in legislative elections in Syria stands at 51.26 percent, an official said on Tuesday, adding that 30 women had been elected to the 250-seat parliament.

Announcing the results of the May 7 vote that was boycotted by opposition groups, Khalaf al-Azzawi, head of the electoral commission, said of 10,118,519 Syrians eligible to vote, a little over half had cast ballots.

Syrian's parliamentary election was the first "multi-party" election in five decades, against a backdrop of violence and dismissed as a sham by the opposition.

The election went ahead despite the unrest that has swept Syria since March 2011, when President Bashar Assad resorted to force in a bid to quash a revolt against his autocratic regime.

The vote was the first in Syria since the adoption in February of a new constitution allowing for multi-party polls. Nine parties were created, and seven had candidates vying for a parliamentary seat.

More than 12,000 people have been killed in violence since March last year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.