The news for elections on the 3rd of June was transmitted by Syrian state media on Monday.

“The 3rd of June is the date of elections”, stated Parliament Spokesman Mohammed Laham, according to Syrian state television.

As mentioned by Reuters, the most likely result will be the renewal of current President’s Bashar Al-Assad’s term for the third consecutive time.

Representatives of western countries who support Assad’s opponents have characterized the elections as a “mockery of democracy”.

According to Laham, the sign-up for presidential candidates will begin on April 22nd.

The announcement came a few hours after the explosion of mortars near parliament in Damascus, which killed five people.