DAMASCUS, 30 May 2021, (TON): Syrian President Bashar Assad was re-elected in a landslide, ushering in a fourth seven-year term in the war-torn country following an election described as illegitimate and a sham by the West and his opposition.

US and European officials have also questioned the legitimacy of the election, saying it violates UN resolutions in place to resolve the conflict, lacks any international monitoring, and is unrepresentative of all Syrians.

Syria's parliament speaker, Hammoud Sabbagh, announced the final results from Wednesday's vote. He said President Assad garnered 95.1 per cent of the votes. He said turnout stood at 78.6 per cent of the voters, in an election that lasted for 17 hours on Wednesday with no independent monitors.

President Assad's victory comes as the country is still devastated by the conflict. Fighting has subsided but the war is not over. An economic crisis is getting worse in a country where over 80% of the population lives below the poverty line and the local currency is in a free fall.

President Assad, close associates and government officials are facing widening Western sanctions, added to already existing ones that have escalated as the war unfolded. European and US governments blame Assad and his aides most of the war's atrocities.

Thousands gathered in major squares in Damascus, and the coastal city of Tartus, dancing while waving flags and pictures of President Assad. They chanted: “With our soul, blood, we defend you Bashar,” and “We only choose three: God, Syria and Bashar.”

A large stage was set in the capital's Omayyad Square, with speakers blaring national songs. One singer appeared on a stage set up in a Tartus square, dressed in the flag of Syria. Almost no one was wearing a face mask, though Syria is facing a surge of coronavirus cases.