presidential elections in Syria

The Syrian opposition in Belgium said here Monday that it is organising a demonstration in front of the European Parliament in Brussels Tuesday against the presidential elections announced by the Syrian regime.
"Bashar al-Assad is one of three candidates to run for election in war-torn Syria. The electoral process is far from democratic as most opposition candidates have been prevented from participating and over nine million refugees and displaced persons are on the run in order to avoid violence and further bloodshed," noted the Syrian opposition in a press release.
The presidential elections in Syria have been strongly criticised, not only by the opposition in Syria, but also the wider international community, represented by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the European Union, outgoing Syria-UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi and US Secretary of State John Kerry.