Syria to hold presidential election on May 26, says parliament speaker

Civil war-hit Syria will hold a presidential election on May 26, speaker of the parliament announced on Sunday. This will be Syria's second presidential election in the shadow of the war. It is being seen as likely that President Bashar Al-Assad will stay in power.

Hamouda Sabbagh, speaker of the parliament, said in a statement that Syrians abroad will be "able to vote at embassies". He added that prospective candidates could hand in their applications from Monday.

Assad, who took power following the death of his father Hafez in 2000, has not yet officially announced that he will stand for re-election.

He won a previous election three years into Syria's devastating civil war in 2014, with 88 percent of the vote.
Under Syria's 2012 constitution, a president may only serve two seven-year terms -- with the exception of the president elected in the 2014 poll.

Candidates contesting upcoming elections must have continuously lived in Syria for at least 10 years. This means that opposition figures in exile are barred from standing.

Candidates must also have the backing of at least 35 members of the parliament, which is dominated by Assad's Baath party.

Elections this time have come after Russian-backed Syrian government forces recaptured vital northern city of Aleppo and other areas. This has placed the government in control of two-thirds of the country.

But the poll also comes amid a crushing economic crisis.

The decade-long civil war has left at least 388,000 people dead and half of the population displaced.

(With inputs from agencies)