BREAKING NEWS

Syria says turnout in election was 73 percent

BEIRUT - Syria's constitutional court said on Wednesday turnout for the presidential election, widely expected to deliver a sweeping victory for Bashar Assad, was 73.4 percent.
A spokesman for the court said 11.63 million Syrians voted in Tuesday's election inside the country and in an earlier round of voting outside Syria for refugees and expatriates. There were 15.85 million eligible voters in total, he said.
The final result will be announced later in parliament.
Assad's foes have dismissed the election as a charade, saying the two relatively unknown challengers offered no real alternative and that no poll held in the midst of civil war could be considered credible.
Voting took place in government-controlled areas of Syria, but not in large parts of northern and eastern Syria held by rebels fighting to end 44 years of Assad family rule.
The conflict has killed 160,000 people, driven nearly 3 million abroad as refugees and displaced many more inside Syria.