A huge Turnout for the Vote Expected: Ambassador Ali Abdel-Karim

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s ambassador to Lebanon said Monday the upcoming Syrian presidential election will be the resounding answer to all those who doubt that his government will prevail in its current conflict.

Sitting in his office at the hilltop Syrian Embassy just outside the Lebanese capital, Ali Abdel-Karim Ali said he expects a huge turnout for the vote scheduled to be held abroad on Wednesday and in Syria on June 3.

He said the world criticizes and opposes the Syrian election because it fears the results.

“The Syrian people will say their word in these elections, and their word is the one that counts. Not Obama’s word, Cameron’s or Hollande’s,” Ali said.

Ali said Syrian refugees in Lebanon, as in other countries, will be able to vote at the embassy Wednesday. On Monday, the embassy was packed with Syrians registering to cast their ballot.

“Western countries are trying to portray the election as a mockery but even public opinion in Europe no longer buys it,” Ali said.

Ali said the world will eventually thank Syria for blocking the advance in the region of “terrorists” and Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

“Syria will earn the respect of even those who were cursing it because it prevented the victory of this terrorist axis which has become a threat to the entire world and not just Syria,” he said.

M. Wassouf