Syria's presidential elections aimed at extending Bashar-al-Assad's grip on power will "neither be free nor fair", Italy and four other Western powers said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
"We, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America wish to make clear that Syria’s May 26 presidential election will neither be free nor fair," read the statement.
"We denounce the Assad regime’s decision to hold an election outside of the framework described in UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and we support the voices of all Syrians, including civil society organisations and the Syrian opposition, who have condemned the electoral process as illegitimate," the statement continued.
Resolution 2254 states that free and fair elections should be convened under UN supervision "to the highest international standards of transparency and accountability," the statement noted.
For an election to be credible, all Syrians should be allowed to participate, including internally displaced Syrians, refugees, and members of the diaspora, in a safe and neutral environment, said the statement.
"Without these elements, this fraudulent election does not represent any progress towards a political settlement. We urge the international community to unequivocally reject this attempt by the Assad regime to regain legitimacy without ending its grave human rights violations and meaningfully participating in the UN-facilitated political process to end the conflict."
The election is the second since the beginning of Syria’s uprising-turned-war a decade ago. Assad is running against two government-approved opposition candidates. Forty-eight other aspiring presidential candidates were rejected.
Polling stations were due to stay open until midnight, due to high turnout, according to state-run news agency SANA.
In 2014 polls, Assad won almost 89% of the vote.
Syria's conflict between rebels and forces loyal to Assad has killed hundreds of thousands of people, forced millions to leave the country and has devastated the country's economy, agriculture and education sectors.
