Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent Presidential elections in Syria on the prospects for future political reconciliation between the government and Opposition forces.

Mr William Hague

The recent Syrian Presidential elections were a parody of democracy designed to sustain the Assad dictatorship, held in the midst of a civil war and extreme regime violence with millions displaced from their homes unable to vote. They did not meet even the most basic requirements for free and fair elections.

We judge that holding these elections was damaging to the political process. This is a view shared by the UN who warned that holding elections “will damage the political process and hamper the prospects for political solution that the country so urgently needs.”

We will continue to support the moderate opposition who have a pluralistic, democratic vision of a future Syria and to create conditions for a future political settlement. A negotiated political transition in Syria, following the principles set out in the Geneva communiqué, is the only way to end the conflict and alleviate Syria’s humanitarian crisis.