TOPSHOT-SYRIA-CONFLICT-VOTE

TOPSHOT - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (C) and his wife Asma (R) cast their votes at a polling station in Douma, near Damascus on May 26, 2021, as voting began across Syria for an election guaranteed to return Assad for a fourth term in office. - The 55-year-old president, who has been in power since 2000, is sure to keep his job after the election, every aspect of which is controlled by him and his Baath party. He faces former state minister Abdallah Salloum Abdallah and Mahmoud Merhi, a member of the so-called "tolerated opposition", long described by exiled opposition leaders as an extension of the regime. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)