Pederson: The United Nations is not authorized to participate in the Assad regime elections

The UN envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, said yesterday, Wednesday, that the United Nations is not authorized to participate in the ongoing presidential elections in the country, noting that Security Council Resolution 2254 provides for elections in accordance with a new constitution.

“It is imperative to avoid or mitigate the humanitarian impacts of sanctions on Syria, which may exacerbate the suffering of ordinary citizens,” Pederson added.
The spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, “Stephane Dujarric”, said today that the presidential elections being held by the Assad regime “are not part of the agreed political process.”

It is noteworthy that the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy denounce the decision to hold elections outside the framework described in UN Security Council Resolution 2254, after the Assad regime announced the start of presidential elections.

While the United Nations confirmed that the presidential elections held by the Assad regime are not part of the agreed political process, because about 6.6 million Syrians have become refugees since 2011, while 6 million and 702,000 have been displaced, which means that they are unable to participate in the elections.