After three years of grinding conflict, the destruction of whole city districts and an exodus of refugees all triggered by an uprising against his rule, Bashar al-Assad is quietly preparing to be re-elected.
The Syrian President has not yet announced whether he will stand for a third term, in defiance of protesters, rebel fighters and Western foes who have demanded he go; but in state-controlled parts of Damascus preparations for his candidacy are unmistakable.
Public gatherings have become platforms to urge the President to nominate himself, despite a continuing civil war that has killed more than 140,000 people, fractured the country and destroyed any chance of a credible vote being held.
Authorities are once again organising demonstrations in support of Assad, accused by opponents of massacres of civilians. Shopkeepers are encouraged to show their support by painting national colours on their store fronts.
Public gatherings urge Assad to nominate himself
Some express their loyalty in general displays of patriotism, while others explicitly call on the 48-year-old President to announce he will stand in the vote, which is due to be held by July.
Just 18 months ago, Assad’s grip over his capital seemed to be slipping as rebels gained ground around Damascus. Since then his forces have consolidated control in central Syria. Rebels still insist his departure is precondition for any peace deal, but having lost military momentum they are unable to dictate terms.
At a gathering in southern Damascus last month to honour victims of Syria’s conflict, local officials and clerics turned the solemn memorial into a political rally. After handing out awards to widows and grieving mothers in Sayida Zeinab, a suburb of the capital which has been at the heart of Assad’s counter-attack against rebels, they made their case for a third term of Assad rule.
“The President said: ‘If there is a popular demand for me to be nominated, I will run. I will not abandon my national duty’,” said Shi’ite Muslim cleric Al Sayyed Fadi Burhan.
“So I ask you to take advantage of this large gathering ... and make it an opportunity to ask President Bashar al-Assad to nominate himself for another electoral term.”
The crowd, mainly loyalists, cheered.
The scene is repeated across government-controlled districts of the capital, such as the garrison suburbs where military families live.
Demonstrators waving portraits of Assad and flags adorned with his face are once again on the streets.
Schoolchildren are bused in to take part in marches, much to the alarm of parents who say they are given no prior notice that their children are being taken to demonstrate while Syria’s civil war rages on.
“Even though it can be very dangerous, they just put them on a bus and take them to a march during their last period of the day without informing us or anything,” the mother of an 11-year-old boy said.
“If they inform us, they know that most parents would not send their kids to school that day.”