Syrian adviser reiterates rejection to elections' interference Syrian adviser reiterates rejection to elections' interference Damascus, May 24 (Prensa Latina) Syrian President's Adviser Bouzeina Shabaan said on Monday that elections are a purely internal affair and President Bashar al-Assad takes his legitimacy from the people and not from foreign powers. The recent statements by the French Government about the elections are part of the Western and Zionist hostile approach to Syria and therefore, they have no value for us, Shabaan said in a dialogue at the University of Damascus. According to the adviser, the fact that Turkey and Germany prevented the Syrian residents in those nations from voting shows the falsehood of their claims about democracy.