Some Syrians voted enthusiastically today in a parliamentary election held in areas controlled by President Bashar al-Assad's regime but others dismissed the vote as a sham.
Assad pressed ahead with the vote despite the start today of another round of UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva aimed at ending the devastating five-year conflict, with a political transition and the Syrian leader's future key sticking points.
Voters could cast ballots at some 7,200 polling stations opened in government-held areas -- around a third of the country's territory where about 60 per cent of the population lives.
They were due to close at 7:00 pm (1600 GMT) after 12 hours of voting, unless the electoral commission decides to extend the deadline.
Assad's Baath party, which has controlled the country for more than half a century, is expected to extend its dominance of parliament, although several parties are participating in the polls.
"I voted because this election will decide the country's future. I hope that the winners will be true to the nation even before being true to the voters," Yamin al-Homsi, a 37-year old who voted in Damascus, told AFP.
Samer Issa, a taxi driver, told AFP he had "fulfilled his national duty" by casting his vote.
"Now, it's up to the winners to fulfil their promises," the 58-year-old added.
The presidency published photos of a smiling Assad and his wife Asma casting their ballots in Damascus.
"We have been at war for five years but terrorism has failed to reach its main goal, which is to destroy Syria's social structure and identity as safeguarded in the constitution," Assad said.
In the ancient city of Palmyra, where Russian-backed Syrian forces drove out the Islamic State jihadist group less than three weeks ago, four polling stations opened.
"I wasn't afraid to come vote today," one newly returned resident said.
Last month, the domestic opposition tolerated by the regime called for a widespread boycott, accusing the government of using the vote to gain leverage in the peace talks.
The High Negotiations Committee, the main opposition body involved in the negotiations, has branded the election "illegitimate".
In Syria's divided second city Aleppo, polling stations only opened in western government-held districts.
"These elections are a farce and I don't believe in them," said Mohammad Zobaidiyyeh, who works as a mechanic in the eastern rebel-controlled neighbourhoods.
The vote is the second parliamentary ballot since the beginning of the war in 2011.
More than 270,000 people have died since, and millions more have been forced to flee their homes. The country's economy has all but collapsed and swathes of territory remain out of government control.
