Syria’s President Bashar Assad was sworn in Saturday for a fourth term as president of the war-ravaged country, even as the results of the May elections were described as illegitimate by the opposition and the West.
The swearing-in ceremony for Assad, who has been in power for more than two decades, was held at the presidential palace in Damascus and was attended by army officers, clergymen and members of parliament, according to The Associated Press.
Assad’s new seven-year term begins as the country is in a full-blown economic crisis after a decade of war. The UN estimates that more than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and nearly half of the country’s pre-war population is displaced or living as refugees in neighboring countries and parts of Europe.
The war began in 2011 and turned opposition against the Assad family’s ruling dynasty into an armed conflict.
Assad is supported by Iran and Russia, who have sent troops and economic assistance throughout the war as the country faced growing sanctions from the West.
Assad took over the country in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez, who had ruled since he seized power in a 1970 coup.
Assad received 95.1 percent of the vote in the election, and turnout was 78.6 percent of 18 million registered voters, according to the Syrian government.
There was no international monitoring of the vote, which US and European officials said violated UN resolutions to resolve the conflict.