![TOPSHOT - Syrians wave national flags and carry a large portrait of their president as they celebrate in the streets of the capital Damascus, a day after an election set to give the current President Bashar al-Assad a fourth term, on May 27, 2021. The election held yesterday in government-held areas was the second presidential vote in Syria since the start in 2011 of a war that has left over 388,000 dead. / AFP / LOUAI BESHARA](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/C2QSLQYLU5BTOCSLGJKW62B4F4.jpg?smart=true&auth=fcbb25c905a7234dae02bfb4eaec0636d070022617c6d90a3b75875c59dcc4b7&width=400&height=225)
President Bashar Al Assad won Wednesday's presidential elections with 95.1 per cent of the vote. AFP
President Bashar Al Assad won Wednesday's presidential elections with 95.1 per cent of the vote. AFP
Fourth time unlucky: Syria ‘re-elects’ Bashar Al Assad
A sham vote does not mask the country's dire political and economic reality