Syria schedules presidential election for June 3 amid civil war
The opposition denounced the announcement of a presidential election on June 3 by Parliament Speaker Jihad Laham as a farce to give Bashar Assad a semblance of legitimacy. No fair pr organized election is possible in a country embroiled in a civil war, up to 200,000 dead, one third of the population dislocated and any likely contestants in prison or exile.