His victory was never in doubt, but now it's official: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has won reelection in a landslide, his government's parliamentary speaker said Wednesday, amid a bloody civil war that has gripped the country for more than three years. The vote — denounced by the West and by Syria's opposition as a sham and as anything but free or fair — was held only in the country's Assad-controlled areas, and he reportedly won more than 88 percent of the vote. His victory was a foregone conclusion, even though other candidates were listed on the ballot for the first time in decades.
