Syrians began voting Sunday on a new draft constitution aimed at quelling the country's uprising by ending the ruling Baath Party's five-decade domination of power, but the opposition announced a boycott and clashes were reported across the country.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m.and the vote is scheduled to last 12 hours. The country has 14.6 million eligible voters who were asked to cast ballots on whether they approve or reject the recently drafted constitution in more than 14,000 polling stations around the country.
The ballot reads, "Do you agree on the new draft constitution?" Marking a green circle indicates yes, while black is no.
President Bashar al-Assad and his
wife Asma cast their votes on Sunday.
Before leaving the polling
station, Assad spoke to supporters and defended the state media.
"If we compare the Syrian
media here with official media in other countries, we are the best. We monitor
their media outlets but we do not care to compare ourselves with who are less
than us but we want to compare ourselves with others who are better than us.
The attack against us is through media. Media is important, but if they (the
media) are strong through the space in reality we are stronger. We want to be
strong in the space (through the media) and the reality," he said.
Such changes were unthinkable a year ago, but after the uprising began in March and Assad's crackdown that killed thousands of people, the vast majority of opposition groups say they accept nothing less than Assad abandoning power.
In the capital Damascus, where Assad retains support among religious minorities and the business class, many said they were eager to vote.
Posters around the capital Damascus urged people to cast ballots. "Don't turn your back on voting," one said.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least nine people were killed Sunday in Homs, and two more died in the southern province of Daraa where the anti-Assad uprising began in March.
The Observatory reported intense clashes between troops and army defectors in the villages of Dael and Hirak in Daraa. The group also said explosions were heard in the village of Khirbet Ghazaleh and Naima as well as the provincial capital, Daraa.
The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, reported violence in several areas including Idlib, Homs, and the eastern province of Deir el-Zour. The LCC said regime forces shelled the northwestern city of Idlib with tanks.
The LCC said 13 people were killed Sunday in Syria, 11 of them in Homs.