Syria to hold presidential election on May 26, nominations begin April 19

The Parliament of Syria has announced that the country will hold its presidential election on May 26, while the candidate registration is to begin on April 19.

The announcement was made by the parliament speaker on Sunday.

"It was decided that Wednesday, May 26, will be the presidential election day for Syrian citizens who are in Syria. For Syrian citizens who are outside of Syria, the election will be held at diplomatic missions on May 20, from 7 am to 7 pm local time," the decision voiced at the parliamentary session said, as quoted by Sputnik.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who took power in 2000, has not yet officially announced he will stand for re-election, Al Jazeera reported. Earlier, Assad won the previous election in 2014.

As per Syria's constitution, a president may only serve two seven-year terms, with the exception of the president elected in the 2014 elections.

The decade-long war in the country has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions displaced.