If you ask any pro-Assad political operative, he/she will tell you that Assad is very popular in Syria because he stands by the Palestinian Cause, the Pan-Arabist Cause (More a sentiment than a vision), the Nationalist Cause (Invented to catch fallouts from Pan-Arabism), and even the Resistance Cause. Assad stands by everything he thinks Syrians stand for. If that is so, why is he still afraid of free elections in Syria then? If he is so popular, why not open the system to evidence the demonstrability of his currency? The answer is simple: Assad is no more popular in Syria than Hezbollah is in Israel because both are violent and visionless. 

There are signals inside Syria that even his staunchest base of supporters is starting to erode. Notice how Tishrin newspaper editorialized about the elections in Syria on April 21st: "Except for the candidates, their relatives and those who will profit from this commercial festival, (Syrians) have lost their enthusiasm for the parliamentary elections" as compared to yesterday's editorial, which saw a 180 degree turn around: "Tomorrow sees a new day for Syria in its democratic journey ... We must compare, realistically and objectively, the Syrian democratic experience with that of the world’s great democracies.” This represents a sign of deep dissent within Syria because even the official newspapers, supposedly the mouthpiece of the regime, stirred a bit before the regime tightened the screws. Syrians have watched all the other countries around them experience free elections in an atmosphere of transparency and accountability and it demeans them to see themselves the followers rather than the leaders of any good experiment.

In Syria, we have a Minister of Expatriates (So many of us left because of oppression) named Buthaina Shaaban who is quite a character. In her efforts to justify the low turnout in the Syrian parliamentary elections, she actually blamed the Syrian opposition, which she opinionated, sold their soul to the US thus becoming traitors. Ghassan al-Mufleh, a Syrian intellectual and ex-prisoner of the Assad regime, shot back in an article published by Elaph "that means all Syrians are Americans".

More than these rigged Syrian elections that saw thousands of hopeful parliamentarians suddenly drop out of the race, Syrians are wary of the upcoming presidential elections with even more disturbing Assadist paean. In that world of tyranny, a "Yes" or a "No" referendum on an open piece of paper suffices to cement Assad for seven more years of further cruelty, despotism, and imperiousness. Syrians must prepare better for that day to clinch further worldwide support to bring the Assad regime either to its senses or to its demise.