Syrian refugees in Jordan say Assad lost his legitimacy long ago,...

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Syrians living in the Zaatari refugee camp in north Jordan said on Tuesday (June 3) they are opposed to presidential elections that are set to extend Bashar al-Assad's rule.

"The people living in Zaatari are opposed to Bashar al-Assad's elections. Bashar al-Assad fell a long time ago, so it's done and there are no elections. We are saying to Arab nations that it's enough of this disrespect. How is it possible to have elections with Bashar al-Assad? Didn't they say Bashar al-Assad has fallen," Abu Raafat told Reuters TV.

"What elections? This is all a farce, a charade, at the cost of all the blood and the martyrs. How can there be elections amid airstrikes?" said another man, Abu Fadi.

Syrians took to the polls Tuesday in an election expected to deliver an overwhelming victory for Assad in the midst of a devastating civil war but which his opponents have dismissed as a charade.

Rebel fighters, the political opposition in exile, Western powers and Gulf Arabs say no credible vote can be held in a country where swathes of territory are outside state control and millions of people have been displaced in the conflict, which grew from protests against Assad's rule.

"These elections are tainted with blood. They are taking place on the dead bodies of children and displaced women. We want to know the world's view of these elections. The world is witnessing this election on the dead bodies of children and the displacement of millions.

What does the world think? History is taking record that America is leading the world while Bashar al-Assad is carrying out an election at the cost of millions who have been displaced and the killing of at least twenty thousand children," Abu Ahmad, a Syrian living in Zaatari said.

Jordan has avoided publicly supporting Syrian rebels fighting to overthrow Assad, calling instead for a political solution to the conflict.

The Western-backed kingdom hosts at least 600,000 registered Syrian refugees, almost a quarter of over 2.5 million in the wider region.