No link between the Baath party elections and the campaign on corruption in Syria

The preliminary elections at the level of branches at the Baath party, the ruling party in Syria, were concluded on Monday evening. The winners will take part in the regional conference which will be held on June 17. It is the first since 15 years.

While analysists are inclined to link events of the Baath party elections and the current campaign against corruption, Syrian officials find out the linking of these two matters are wrong and that what is taking place in Syria" is a logical change not a revolution on all convictions."

The speaker of the Syrian People's Assembly (PA) Abdul Qader Qaddoura said in Daraa, where he was taking part in the preliminary elections: " The big mistake is to link between what is taken place and the party elections."

There are talks in the circles of the Baathists "on separating between the Baath party authority and the executive authority," represented by the government despite the fact that the Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa Miro and the Information Minister Adnan Omran and the ministers of justice, industry, tourism, education and higher education won the elections at the level of the Baath party branches.

Qaddoura added that according to the Syrian constitution the Baath party is considered the leader of the " society and the state" and therefore no separation can be made between the leader and the masses and that talks about " dismembering the Baath party authority and the executive authority are just talk."

It is, however, expected the conference to elect a new central committee including 90 members which by its turn elect a Baath party regional leadership of 21 members with the majority of them young, foremost being among them is the son of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.