The certainty that Syrian President Bashar Assad will win this month's presidential election is not stopping an exiled dissident from running against him. Former Syrian lawmaker Maamoun al-Himsi, who lives in exile in Lebanon, Monday declared his candidacy to run against Assad in the presidential "referendum" slated for May 27, a race the incumbent leader is sure to win in a country where democracy is not a way of governance.
Himsi told reporters in Beirut the decision for his candidacy was made in agreement with other Syrian opposition leaders inside and outside Syria, saying his nomination was a "legitimate right in confronting a corrupt and invalid dictatorship."
He sharply blasted the Damascus regime and its leader as being a "spring of terrorism, murder, crime and genocide of the innocent." Himsi promised to work towards building a "modern civil state that respects international legitimacy."
His announcement is apparently more of a symbolic move than anything else, as his name will not likely be on a list of presidential contenders in Syria.
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From: UPI _ May 21, 2007 Monday 1:53 PM EST
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