Syrian businessman Marwan al-Zoubi said on Monday that the parties and concerts held in countries outside Syria by politicians, artists, or businessmen are nothing more than “a way to curry favor with Bashar al-Assad.”
Al-Zoubi told Al-Hal Net that “the event held in the Egyptian capital, #Cairo, under the title ‘From #Egypt to #Syria,’ sponsored by the head of the Egyptian-Syrian Friendship Association, businessman Talal Attar, came in support of the Syrian presidential elections.”
Al-Zoubi said that Attar’s claim that “a large number of Egyptian businessmen, businesswomen, and artists support Syria’s path toward reconstruction and stand by it, its army, its leadership, and its people” is nothing but “flattery aimed at safeguarding Attar’s property and business in #Syria and Egypt.”
The Syrian businessman added that “the Syrian government is seeking to legitimize the elections by encouraging expatriate businessmen to hold events supporting #Bashar_al-Assad, and by backing them through official media in order to send the message that Assad enjoys a popular support base abroad.”
Earlier, the secretary-general of the Egyptian-Syrian Friendship Association, Talal Attar, who is known for his pro-Assad positions, organized an event in which he announced the Syrian community in Egypt’s support for the presidential elections.
Talal Attar owns the Dar Ward restaurant chain (the authentic Aleppan restaurant), with branches in Egypt and Syria, in the cities of #Damascus and Aleppo. He is considered one of the first businessmen to renew his investments in the city of #Aleppo after the Syrian army took control of it in late 2016. In 2017, Attar reopened Al-Arika Café next to #Aleppo_Citadel after restoring the damage to the building.
Researchers on Syrian political affairs believe that the Syrian government is exploiting its diplomatic relations with some countries, including Egypt and #Lebanon, to organize celebrations supporting the elections and use them as part of its propaganda machine.
Current president Bashar al-Assad is participating in the elections for the second consecutive time under the new constitution approved in 2012. He won the previous election in 2014, securing the presidency with 88% of the vote, thereby winning his first presidential term under the new constitution and his third since the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, in 2000.
Bashar al-Assad launched his election campaign under the slogan “Hope Through Work” a few days before the start of the elections.
#Buthaina_Shaaban, special adviser to Bashar al-Assad, called on Syrians to “turn a deaf ear to the malicious media and place absolute faith in Assad.”
The elections are scheduled to be held on May 26. The Supreme Constitutional Court has announced the final list of candidates for the post of “President of the Republic,” which includes former #People’s_Assembly member Abdullah Salloum Abdullah, current president Bashar al-Assad, and Mahmoud Ahmad Marei, head of the Syrian Arab Organization for Human Rights and secretary-general of the opposition Democratic Front.
