Syrians Vote on Constitution Referendum, Opposition Boycotts

Thousands of Syrians are flocking Sunday to polling stations to vote a constitutional referendum on an array of wide-reaching reforms.

"A very high election turnout" can be observed at many stations since the morning, reports Russian agency ITAR-TASS.

The agency also adds that in many cities people have flocked in rallies of support for embattled President Bashar Al-Assad.

Assad called the referendum to let Syrians decide if they want democratic reforms, called for by protests since March 2011.

Syrian opposition rerpesentatives have called for a boycott of the referendum, saying it proposes facade reforms, keeping almost the entire state authority in the President.

On the other hand, the new constitutional proposals include elimination of the single-party system for a political pluralism, and a limit on the 7-year terms the president may serve to 2.

The new constitution proposals also ban the formation of parties based on religious, ethnic or race principles, but mentions Sharia as the supreme source of all law.

Sunday Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad condemned the decision of participants in the "Friends of Syria" meeting to endorse the opposition Syrian National Council, saying this only furthers new bloodshed.

Meanwhile world agencies report heavy fighting in the city of Homs, which has been the arena of some of the most violent events since unrest started.

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