Syria’s Assad Nominated for Third Term
The 21-member regional command of the governing Baath Party, Syria’s most important policy-making body, announced Friday that it had nominated President Hafez Assad for a third term.
Assad, 54, who took control of Syria in a bloodless coup in 1970, was re-elected secretary-general of the party at a recent meeting of the Baath Party Congress. His current seven-year term ends March 13, and his renomination had been expected.
The regional command said the recommendation had been sent to the Syrian Parliament, which will hold a special session today to discuss the nomination. If Parliament approves, Assad’s name will be submitted to a public referendum before Feb. 13, it said.
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