A former minister has registered his candidacy for the Syrian presidential election, becoming the second person in the running for the executive position, Parliament Speaker Jihad al-Laham announced Thursday.
Hassan al-Nouri, 54, declared his candidacy for the June 3 elections, a day after lawmaker Maher Hajjar announced his bid for the top post, Xinhua reported.
Al-Nouri served as minister of administrative development and minister of state for parliamentary affairs from 2000 to 2002. He also served as the general secretary of the Chamber of Industry from 1997 to 2000, and was a member of Syrian Parliament from 1998 to 2003.
Al-Nouri, a father of five, holds a doctorate in public management from the Kennedy University in the US and a doctorate in business administration from the European University of Switzerland, according to his campaign information posted online.
Several candidates are expected to run for the presidency in accordance with the new constitution and electoral law that stipulates that all applicants must have lived in Syria for 10 consecutive years prior to nomination, a condition which severely limits exiled opposition members, many of whom have been living outside Syria for years.
The timing of the presidential poll has raised the ire of many in the Syrian opposition, as well as their regional and international backers, who have labelled the upcoming poll a "parody of democracy".
Government officials say President Bashar al-Assad is the "real guarantee" for the future of Syria, hinting that Assad would run for the elections, despite a barrage of criticism, and has a high chance to be re-elected for a third seven-year term.
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Opposition groups inside and outside Syria have criticised the decision to hold the presidential election amidst the current civil war in the country, which has claimed over 150,000 lives and displaced one-third of its population in grinding clashes between government troops and armed militant groups.
They also stressed that millions of Syrians were displaced in neighbouring countries, many of whom did not have access to basic necessities, let alone access to polling stations.
Assad himself, whose second term will expire July 17, has not yet announced whether he would run for re-election, but he has reportedly expressed interest in running.
Voting for Syrians inside the country will start June 3, while overseas Syrians will cast their votes May 28.