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| Turnout | 95.86% | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by constituent state Assad: 90–100% Election not held | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal Governments   | ||
A referendum to confirm the presidential candidate Bashar al-Assad was held in Syria on 27 May 2007, after the People's Council of Syria unanimously voted to propose the incumbent for a second term on 10 May 2007. [1] [2]
According to the Syrian Constitution, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party of Syria is the leader of the state and society and thus, the President should be a member of the party. The National Progressive Front, a political coalition led by the Ba'ath Party, nominated a candidate in the People's Council. The candidate had to be approved by at least two-thirds of MPs to proceed to the referendum, in which a candidate had to receive at least 51% of the vote.
The referendum was widely regarded as a formality, [3] and was boycotted by the opposition. [2] [4] [5] [6] Political opposition groups were banned unless attached to the Ba'ath Party, meaning Assad was the only candidate allowed to run. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] It was reported that dissent was met with imprisonment and intimidation. [1] [8] [9] Fear of government reprisal was said to have been pervasive. [8] [9] Critics accused Assad of rampant corruption, mass arrests against dissidents, and suppression of pro-democracy activists. [1] [4] [6] [10]
Members of the Damascus Declaration issued a statement which said calls to amend the constitution to allow for freer elections were ignored. [1] Syrian lawyer Haitham al-Maleh stated "there is only one candidate and this is absolutely not a healthy process." [5] Tom Casey, American spokesman for the State Department, said "I'm sure President Assad is basking in the glow of his ability to have defeated exactly zero other candidates and continue his misrule of Syria," and that "clearly there was no real choice here for the Syrian people." [1] [11]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bashar al-Assad | Ba'ath Party | 11,199,445 | 99.82 | |
| Against | 19,653 | 0.18 | ||
| Total | 11,219,098 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 11,219,098 | 97.79 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 253,059 | 2.21 | ||
| Total votes | 11,472,157 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 11,967,611 | 95.86 | ||
| Source: IFES | ||||
Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majeed claimed "this great consensus shows the political maturity of Syria and the brilliance of our democracy", while the ministry described voter turnout as "enormous". [7] The information minister, Muhsen Bilal, stated that "we have our own style of democracy and we are proud of it." [8]
During the final decade of Ba'ath party rule, the politics of Syria took place in the framework of a presidential republic with nominal multi-party representation in People's Council under the Ba'athist-dominated National Progressive Front. In practice, Ba'athist Syria remained a one-party state where independent parties were outlawed, with a powerful secret police that cracked down on dissidents. From the 1963 seizure of power by its neo-Ba'athist Military Committee to the fall of the Assad regime, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party governed Syria as a totalitarian police state. After a period of intra-party strife, Hafez al-Assad gained control of the party following the 1970 coup d'état and his family dominated the country's politics.
Bashar al-Assad is a Syrian politician, military officer, and former dictator who served as the 19th president of Syria from 2000 until his government was overthrown by Syrian rebels in December 2024. As president, Assad was commander-in-chief of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He is the son of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000.
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Syria has had various constitutions, the first being the Syrian Constitution of 1930. The most recent constitution was in force from 26 February 2012 until the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. The 2012 constitution was suspended on 30 January 2025 and a new constitution will be drafted by the Syrian Transitional Government.
The National Progressive Front was a state organised coalition of left-wing parties that supported the Arab nationalist and Arab socialist orientation of the now defunct Syrian Ba'athist regime and accepted the "leading role" of the ruling Syrian Ba'ath party. The coalition was modelled after the popular front system used in the Communist Bloc, through which Syrian Ba'ath party governed the country while permitting nominal participation of smaller, satellite parties. The NPF was part of Ba'ath party's efforts to expand its support base and neutralize prospects for any sustainable liberal or left-wing opposition, by instigating splits within independent leftist parties or repressing them.
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The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, also referred to as the pro-Syrian Ba'ath movement, is a neo-Ba'athist political party with branches across the Arab world. From 1970 until 2000, the party was led by the Syrian president and Secretary General Hafez al-Assad. Until 26 October 2018, leadership was shared between his son Bashar al-Assad and Abdullah al-Ahmar.
A constitutional referendum was held in Syria on 26 February 2012. In response to the Syrian Civil War, President Bashar al-Assad ordered a new constitution to be drafted. The referendum was not monitored by foreign observers.
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, officially the Syrian Regional Branch, was a neo-Ba'athist organisation founded on 7 April 1947 by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar and followers of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party ruled Syria from the 1963 coup d'état, which brought the Ba'athists to power, until 8 December 2024, when Bashar al-Assad fled Damascus in the face of a rebel offensive during the Syrian Civil War. The party suspended all activities on 11 December 2024 "until further notice" and transferred its assets to the Syrian transitional government, de facto dissolving the party. On 29 January 2025, the party was formally dissolved by the Syrian transitional government.
Qadri Jamil is a Syrian politician, media editor and economist. He is one of the top leaders of the People's Will Party and the Popular Front for Change and Liberation, and a former member of the Syrian government, having been dismissed from the post of deputy prime minister for economic affairs; minister of internal trade and consumer Protection on 29 October 2013. During a visit to Russia on 21 August 2012 Jamil said that President Bashar Assad's resignation might be considered if the opposition agreed to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Syrian revolution.
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This article details the history of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party.
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Presidential elections were held in Syria on 26 May 2021, with expatriates able to vote in some embassies abroad on 20 May. This was the last presidential election to be held in Ba'athist Syria, prior to its overthrow following the 2024 Syrian opposition offensive.
The presidency of Bashar al-Assad began on 17 July 2000 succeeding his father, Hafez al-Assad who served as President of Syria from 1971 until his death on 10 June 2000, until his overthrow in 2024 during the Syrian civil war on 8 December.
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