President Bashar al-Assad is to face two challengers in Syria’s June 3 presidential election, which he is assured of winning, the constitutional court said on Sunday.
“The supreme constitutional court announces... the acceptance of candidacy bids registered by... Maher Abdel Hafiz Hajjar, Hassan Abdallah al-Nuri and Bashar Hafez al-Assad,” a court official said.
Twenty-three candidates had initially registered to run against Assad, but most did not meet election criteria to run for office in a vote that has been mocked by the opposition and the West as a “farce”.
Both Hajjar and Nuri are largely unknown to the Syrian public.
Candidates whose bids were rejected have until May 7 to appeal the court’s decision, said Majed al-Khadra of the constitutional court, whose statement was carried by state television.