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Syria/VoteBack
[Published: Sunday September 16 2018]

 Syrians vote in first local polls since 2011

 
DAMASCUS 16 Sep (ANA) - Syrians in government-controlled areas have cast their ballots in the first local elections since anti-government protests in 2011 spiralled into a full-blown war between rebels, government troops and foreign backers.
 
Polling booths opened at 7am (04:00 GMT) on Sunday across government-held parts of the country where more than 40,000 candidates would compete for 18,478 seats on local administrative councils.
 
Syrian state television broadcast footage of voters around Damascus and in the coastal government bastions of Tartus and Latakia.
 
They dropped their ballots into plastic boxes as election officials looked on.
 
The channel also showed images of voting in Deir Az Zor, the eastern city recaptured in full last year by Syrian troops after fierce battles against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.
 
No voting was taking place in areas outside government control, including Kurdish-held parts of the northeast and the largest rebel-held piece of territory, northwest Idlib province, home to some three million people.
 
According to AFP news agency, there appeared to be fewer people heading to the polls than in previous presidential or parliamentary elections.
 
Mohammad Kabbadi, a 42-year-old government employee, cast his ballot in the Bab Sharqi district of the capital for a candidate from his neighbourhood.
 
"I know exactly who I am going to vote for - he's young, active and his victory will bring good things to residents of this area," said Kabbadi.(ANA)
FA/ANA/16 September 2018-------
 
 
 
 

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