Syrian opposition PM re-elected for second term

Beirut, Oct 15 (IANS/EFE) The prime minister of the Syrian opposition government, Ahmad Tumeh, has been re-elected to a second term by the general assembly of the Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition political alliance.

In a statement Wednesday, the coalition said that Tumeh was the winner in the vote of the general assembly, beating two other candidates, Mohammed Yassin Najar and Ali Badran.

Tumeh won with 63 votes, while Najar got one vote and Badran drew a blank.

Tumeh has a month to form a new opposition government which must be approved by the general assembly of the coalition.

In July, the coalition ousted the first cabinet headed by Tumeh because its work was not satisfactory, a spokesman for the group said in remarks to Efe news agency.

The latest vote was originally scheduled for late August, but was delayed due to internal differences over candidates for the position.

The Democratic Bloc, one of the most important groups within the coalition, has issued a statement criticising the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, backed by Qatar, for their support for Tumeh.

Tumeh is an independent Islamist who was detained in Syria between 2007 and 2010.

He was a member of the so-called Damascus Declaration, an initiative of peaceful resistance that was launched by veterans of the opposition to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad before 2011 when the political violence began.

--IANS/EFE

ab/vt