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Minister of Information Imad Sarah told reporters the
constitutional court would look into the eligibility of 51
candidates, including Assad, for the May 26 vote.
Assad has ruled since 2000, succeeding his father who had seized
power in a 1970 coup. Syria has suffered civil war since 2011,
although Assad's government has captured most territory once
held by rebels trying to topple him.
Washington and the Syrian opposition have denounced the planned
election as a farce designed to cement Assad's authoritarian
rule.
Top U.N. officials said this month the election did not fulfil
Security Council resolutions, which call for a political process
to end the conflict, a new constitution, and elections
administered under U.N. supervision with the "highest standards
of transparency and accountability".
Syria's rubber stamp parliament ended a 10-day period on
Wednesday for nominations for those seeking to stand in the
election. Each candidate needs support from at least 35 members
of parliament, and candidates must have lived in Syria for the
last 10 years, ruling out exiled opposition figures from
standing.
"We will be studying the legality of the files of the
candidates," the head of the higher constitutional court, Jihad
Al Laham, told state media.
Syria's multi-sided conflict, which began with a 2011 crackdown
against anti-government protests, has sucked in world powers,
killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions
more. Over the past several years, Assad, supported by Russian
and Iranian allies, has regained control of most of the country.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Kinda Makieh)
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