Tartus: A candidate for Syria’s parliamentary elections has been killed, just days before elections scheduled for Sunday. Security sources told dpa that Haidar Shahin was shot dead in his home in the coastal province of Tartus. A masked man reportedly entered the house Tuesday evening and opened fire. Shahin, in his 40s, was a member of the Alawite religious minority.
According to Ghana News Agency, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry confirmed the attack, saying that one of the candidates for Sunday’s election had been killed, without providing further details. Authorities have launched an investigation, official sources said Wednesday. Security forces questioned Shahin’s wife and children shortly after the attack, according to informed sources in Damascus.
A local representative in Tartus described the killing as ‘a cowardly crime against a respected academic’ and said the perpetrators aimed to prevent citizens from exercising their right to run for parliament. Sunday’s election is the first nationwide vote since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad at the end of last year. During al-Assad’s rule, elections were often criticized as sham.
Controversy persists because Syrians in these elections do not directly elect representatives; instead, a multi-stage process is used, which critics say favors personal interests and nepotism. The Mediterranean provinces of Tartus and Latakia, where Shahin lived, are predominantly Alawite. In March, the region witnessed severe violence that left hundreds dead, mostly from the Alawite community.
Local sources in both provinces said many residents refrained from running in the election after allegedly receiving threats.