Syria calls in North Korea to monitor its presidential election

(Image credit: Feng Li/Getty Images)

Syrians began voting Tuesday in a farcical election almost certain to hand President Bashar al-Assad another seven-year term. Government forces provided heavy security at more than 9,000 polling stations in government-controlled areas. State employees said they had been told they had to vote or face interrogation. Opposition groups urged Syrians to boycott the "blood election," and rebels said anyone not staying home was a legitimate military target.

But in perhaps the most telling example of the election's illegitimacy, North Korea joined Zimbabwe, Russia, and Iran to monitor the voting. Per The New York Times:

While Mr. Assad’s international opponents have branded the election a farce, election observers were on hand Tuesday from North Korea — a country even less tolerant of dissent than Syria — as well as from Mr. Assad’s allies Iran and Russia, along with Brazil, Zimbabwe and others. [The New York Times]

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.