Syrian expats in UAE banned from voting in presidential polls

Dubai: Official sources in the UAE Foreign Ministry confirmed reports on Wednesday that the UAE government has banned Syrian expats to vote in presidential elections, saying that the UAE does not believe the election is "fair" or "real".

Expat voting started in embassies around the world ahead of Syria’s June 3 presidential election.

The vote is seen as highly contentious amid the civil war but one that is widely expected to give the Syrian president a third seven-year term in office.

The Syrian opposition and its Western allies have denounced the election as a sham designed to lend Bashar Al Assad a veneer of electoral legitimacy.