A tale of three elections
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP This weekend is host to three elections: Nigeria, where ethno-religious violence and widespread accusations of fraud have marred the country’s first attempt at a democratic rotation of power; France, where the gap between conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Ségolène Royal has narrowed somewhat in recent days and many voters are still undecided; and ...
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP
This weekend is host to three elections: Nigeria, where ethno-religious violence and widespread accusations of fraud have marred the country’s first attempt at a democratic rotation of power; France, where the gap between conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Ségolène Royal has narrowed somewhat in recent days and many voters are still undecided; and … what was that third country again?
Oh yeah, Syria.
Syria, an anachronistic Baathist regime ruled by an opthamologist, is holding “elections without politics” on Sunday and Monday, in the words of the Carnegie Endowment’s Omayma Abdel Latif. You probably haven’t heard much about Syria’s parliamentary contests because, well, there isn’t much to tell. One faction of the beleaguered opposition, as is typical in countries where politics are window-dressing for dictatorship, has had enough:
It is “pointless to take part in an election whose results are known in advance,” said lawyer Hassan Abdel-Azim, spokesman for six banned parties operating under the umbrella National Democratic Rally (NDR).
And that is all you need to know about election #3.
Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
More from Foreign Policy

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.