In a statement on Monday, Mousavi said the elections were held at a time when Syrian people have suffered many pains and hardships because of the conflicts and damages imposed on them by the acts of terrorist groups, the presence of foreign occupying forces, and cruel unilateral sanctions.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is hopeful that the parliamentary elections in Syria would be a positive step towards peace, stability, and progress of Syrian-Syrian political talks, and a relief for the pains of Syrian people,” he added.
On Sunday, Syrians voted to elect a new parliament, including, for the first time in years, in former rebel bastions.
More than 7,400 polling stations opened at 7:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Sunday, including in former militant strongholds of Eastern Ghouta, east of central Damascus, and the southern countryside of the northwestern Idlib province.
President Bashar al-Assad‘s Baath party and his allies are expected to win most of the parliament’s 250 seats in the third such polls to be held in Syria ever since foreign-sponsored militancy broke out in March 2011. The two previous polls were staged in May 2012 and April 2016 respectively. In the last legislative elections in 2016, turnout stood at 57.56 percent.
