
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-
Bashar al-Assad was sworn in yesterday as Syria's president for a new seven-years term. According to the media, Assad won the first ever presidential election in Syria’s history. He won the election, which was conducted last June, by gaining 88.7 percent of the total vote.
A Syrian government official said that President Assad will give a speech on his leadership during his new term of office. Assad will be inaugurated in the Presidential Palace in Damascus in front of high ranking Syrian officials.
Joshua Landis, expert on Syria form the University of Oklahoma, said that Assad's speech shows that he is an important figure to maintain stability and security, and also to restore the hopes of Syrian refugees.
REUTERS | AL-BAWABA | SITA PLANASARI AQUADINI