Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Friday, Hossein Sheikholeslam, the adviser of Iran’s parliament speaker on the international affairs, provided details on a recent visit an Iranian parliamentary delegation had made to Syria to oversee the presidential elections there.
Pointing to a meeting the Iranian delegation held with Syria’s president during its stay in Damascus, the lawmaker said Bashar al-Assad was rather impressed by the high turnout of voters in the polls than his re-election.
“The very first important thing in my mind was the Syrian nation’s participation in the elections,” Sheikholeslam quoted Assad as saying.
The Syrian president-elect also interpreted the enthusiastic turnout as a vote in favor of fighting terrorism and seditions and countering extremism, the MP explained.
“The votes will undoubtedly change the region’s situation,” Assad was quoted as saying.
According to Sheikholeslam, the Syrian president had also referred to the polls as a “milestone” in the history of Syria as an independent state, saying it has contributed to the unity and solidarity among Syrians.
Assad won a landslide victory in the June 3 presidential poll with 88.7 percent of the vote, securing another seven-year term.
A total of 10.2 million people voted for Assad. The voter turnout stood at 73.42 percent. Syria’s Higher Judicial Committee for Elections stated that not any violations have been reported during the polls.