In Syria, a Show of Democracy Amid Destruction

By ANNE BARNARD, NYT
APRIL 15, 2014

HOMS, Syria — The center of this city is a blockaded, insurgent-held war zone, its skyline jagged with broken concrete. Ringing it is a patchwork of scarred neighborhoods, some functioning but fearful, some crammed with the displaced, others reduced to bombed-out shells where only soldiers move. Much of Homs is scarcely fit for human habitation, never mind a safe and peaceful exercise in democracy.

That did not stop the local governor, Talal al-Barazi, from declaring this broken city ripe for “relatively good elections.” His optimism is shared at the highest levels in Damascus, where officials have declared that a presidential vote will be held within three months, despite the raging war that has driven nine million Syrians from their homes. They expect President Bashar al-Assad to win — even though, for the first time in decades, there will in theory be an opponent on the ballot.

Claiming another seven-year term amid a three-year revolt against his rule would be a remarkable feat of survival for Mr. Assad, embarrassing for his international foes and demoralizing for Syrian opponents who staked their lives, families and towns on his ouster.

(More here.)