DAMASCUS: The Syrian people will cast their votes on Tuesday (June 3) to elect their president for a seven year term.
The officials said that about 9,600 polling stations have been prepared in government-held areas for around 15 million people who have registered to cast their ballots.
The incumbent president Bashar al-Assad is seeking a third term in office. He will face Maher Abdel Hafiz Hajjar, a lawmaker from Aleppo, as well as Hassan Abdallah al-Nuri, a legislator from Damascus in the presidential race.
The Syrian government has insisted that it would hold the vote despite the foreign-backed militancy that has reportedly killed over 160,000 people since it erupted in the country in March 2011.
It has also dismissed Western and opposition accusations regarding the presidential election, saying that it is planning to hold a free and transparent vote.
