Who do you think is going to win the election in Syria?

Bashar Assad is up for, ahem, re-election. According to the New York Times:

Many expect the referendum to be a turning point, but they differ on its direction. Some hope that Mr. Assad will begin changes and pardon the imprisoned advocates of change; others fear the referendum will further embolden the government to take an even tougher line domestically and cement its position.

“The regime has total power in the country,” said Riad Seif, a former member of Parliament and an opposition figure. “It controls the economy, the Ministry of Information, and it has hundreds of thousands of secret police. They can use all these tools to achieve their goals.”

The Times article also reports "sparse" attendance at the "kickoff party" of Assad's "re-election campaign." Something must be amiss somewhere, however, since according to the Syrian Arab New Agency support for Assad looks like this:Any uncertainty is bound to be cleared up, of course, by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting:

Syrians go to the polls on Sunday in an ellections which will give President Bashar al-Assad another seven years in office.

See, they're predicting the outcome of the election without reservation. They must have access to accurate polls.

The Syrian Arab Republic's parliament unanimously approved the candidature of the 41-year-old president for a second term until the year 2014.

The ruling Baath Party has called on voters to give a resounding "yes" to a new mandate for Assad.

In july 2000, after the death of his father Hafez, Bashar was voted to office by the Syrian people, receiving a 97.29 percent support.

He'll beat that this time. I just know it.

Update: IRIB reports "Syria vote for Assad unprecedented."

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Tags: Syria, Ba'ath Party, Assad, election