Bashar al-Assad wins Syrian presidential election

Speaker of the People’s Council of Syria Hammouda Sabbagh announced on Thursday the results of the vote in the May 26 presidential election.

"The incumbent President Bashar al-Assad won the election, securing the support of 95.1% of the voters," Sabbagh told a news conference in Damascus broadcast by Al-Ekhbariya television. "The voter turnout was 78%," he said, adding that over 14 million citizens took part in the election. The speaker drew attention to high responsibility of the people "that surpassed all expectations". "Syrians showed that they are full of determination to stand against dangerous challenges and wrote another glorious page in the history of their country," he added.

Al-Assad’s opponents racked up 3.3% and 1.5% of the vote.

Celebrations broke out in the Syrian capital and other cities across the country even before the official announcement.

According to the 2012 constitution, a presidential term in Syria is seven years.