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Beirut, May 7 (IANS) Lebanese caretaker Interior Minister Mohammad Fahmi vowed to facilitate Syrian refugees' participation in the upcoming Syrian presidential election.
Fahmi made the pledge during his meeting with Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Al here on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Minister said Lebanon will take all necessary measures to facilitate the arrival of the Syrian refugees at the Syrian embassy in Beirut to cast their votes on May 20.
The Ambassador said after the meeting that the Lebanese side promised to coordinate with the Syrian embassy in Lebanon to ensure a smooth electoral process.
The UN estimated that over 1 million Syrians have to Lebanon since a brutal civil war broke out in the country in 2011.
On April 18, the Syrian Parliament announced the presidential election will be held in May.
The election day for the Syrians abroad is set on May 20, while in the country it will be held on May 26.
Meanwhile, the candidacy applications of incumbent President Bashar al-Assad, Mahmoud Ahmed Muri and Abdullah Salloum Abdullah have been approved for them to contest the election, which comes seven years after the last polls took place in the war-torn country.
In the uncontested 2000 and 2007 elections, the incumbent President, who took office following the death of his father Hafez al-Assad, received 97.29 per cent and 97.6 per cent support, respectively.
Amid the raging conflict, Bashar al-Assad was sworn in for another seven-year term in July 2014 after another non-democratic election gave him 88.7 per cent of the vote.
--IANS
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