Syria heads to the polls with Assad expected to win again By Syrians to vote in over 12,000 polling stations. More than 80% of the Syrian population lives below the poverty line. EU, US reject Syrian polls. A war-battered Syria headed to the polls on Wednesday, with analysts predicting Syrian President Assad to extend his term in the country by winning a fourth term. The controversial vote is the second election since the start of a decade-long conflict, that has killed more than 388,000 people and displaced half the pre-war population. Huge election posters glorifying Assad have mushroomed across the two-thirds of the country under government rule.