DAMASCUS, 28 May 2007 — Syrians went to the polls yesterday to re-elect President Bashar Assad for a second term in a ballot for which he was the only candidate allowed to run.

With Iraq plunging into sectarian strife and instability in Lebanon, state media and the ruling Baath party have emphasized Bashar’s command of a strong state, economic reform and his vision of upholding Arab rights in the struggle with Israel.

“With Bashar, Syria is the homeland of security and stability,” the government said in a message to mobile phone subscribers in a million-dollar campaign launched along with businessmen close to the ruling class.

Parliament unanimously chose the 41-year-old as the sole candidate for president earlier this month. At least one other contender, a lawyer, said his application was ignored. The presidential term is seven years.

Baath Party functionaries, public sector employees and members of the large security apparatus were among the first at polling booths when they opened.

“I voted yes because Bashar means that we don’t have to worry about violence ruining our lives,” said Mayada Al-Halabi, who heads a government department.

“Stability is paramount, but the president has also promised to improve living standards,” said Mohammad Al-Sinn, who also ticked yes on the simple ballot.

Bashar won 97.29 percent of the vote last time when he succeeded his late father, Hafez Al-Assad, in 2000. Similar margins were normal in such votes during the elder Assad’s rule.

Campaign films showed Bashar with Western officials who have visited Damascus lately to emphasize what Syria views as its success in defeating US-led attempts to isolate it.

But Bashar faces immediate challenges. The United Nations Security Council is expected to approve the creation of a tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination in Beirut of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri.

A UN investigation has implicated Lebanese and Syrian security officials in the killing. Syria denies involvement.

Syria says the court is a US tool aimed at destabilizing Damascus and punishing it for its pro-Palestinian stance and support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“The regime’s handling of Lebanon will continue to undermine it,” Riad Al-Turk, Syria’s leading dissident, told Reuters. “Syria is taking one hit after another and the regime has not even delivered on services or living standards.” Economic performance is central for Bashar’s strategy of building legitimacy and raising Syria’s profile as a pivotal Middle East player. But oil exports have been declining and a huge welfare state and public sector are deepening the budget deficit, already at four percent of gross domestic product.

Although Bashar has slowly opened the economy, he has kept firm control of the political system, which the Baath have monopolized since a 1963 coup.

A new campaign to crush dissidents was launched last year and leading political activists were arrested and handed years of jail sentences for criticizing government policy.