Syria: Baath party wins big in legislative elections - media

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, JULY 22 - The Baath party in Syria overwhelmingly won legislative elections that took place between Sunday and Monday in nearly all of the country, said government media sources, citing official results released by the electoral commission on Wednesday. The Baath party has been the ruling party for more than half a century in Syria, a country battered by nine years of war. Turnout at the polls hit a record low of 33%, compared to 56% turnout in 2016. The electoral list was dominated by the Baath party and other satellite groups in power for decades in Syria. They won 171 of the 250 seats in the People's Council of Syria, the country's parliament. The result was widely expected given the Syrian electoral system, which guarantees a majority to the ruling party, led by President Bashar al Assad, who has been in power for 20 years. The opposition in exile denounced the legislative elections as a "farce" and said "in Syria there aren't free elections" and that "even so-called independent candidates are de facto chosen by the regime".(ANSAmed). (ANSA).