Sep 16, 2018

Voting began across government-controlled parts of Syria on Sunday for the war-ravaged country's first local elections since 2011, state news agency SANA said.

Polling booths opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) and are expected to stay open for 12 hours.

"Voting centres opened for citizens to cast their ballots to elect their representatives in the local administrative councils," SANA reported.

"More than 40,000 candidates are competing for 18,478 seats across all provinces," it said.

Syrian state television broadcast footage of voters around Damascus and in the coastal government bastions of Tartus and Latakia dropping their ballots into plastic boxes as election officials looked on.