[5] Domestic and foreign-based Syrian opposition groups boycotted the election and voting did not take place in large parts of Syria under rebel control.

[13][14] Since 2011, the country has been plagued by the Syrian civil war that has factionalised the population largely, but not entirely, along sectarian religious and/or ethnic grounds.

[17] A Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that amid the ongoing war and large-scale displacement of Syrian citizens, "such elections are incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Geneva communiqué" and would "damage prospects of a political solution with the opposition.

"[13][18] Syrian Rebels and opposition parties refused to attend the peace conference (the ultimate goal of the Geneva communiqué) unless Assad was removed from power and barred from any future leadership position.

A law adopted by the Syrian parliament in early 2014 restricts candidacy to individuals who have lived in Syria for the past ten years, thereby preventing exiled people from running.

[5] The other 21 candidates that did not meet the criteria were:[34] The Syrian government said election monitors would not be allowed from the United States, European Union, or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, but other observers would be present.

[37] Among the delegates were Iran's Alaeddin Boroujerdi,[38] Alexey Alexandrov of Russia's ruling United Russia,[38] William Fariñas of Venezuela's ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela,[39][deprecated source] Benna Namugwanya Bugembe of Uganda's ruling National Resistance Movement,[36] Brazilian Socorro Gomes of the Communist World Peace Council,[39][deprecated source] Indian anti-Zionist activist Feroze Mithiborwala,[37] and US-based pro-Assad activist Paul Larudee.

[40] The Supreme Constitutional Court announced on Wednesday 4 June that turnout for the election was 73.42%, with 11,634,412 of the 15,845,575 Syrians eligible to take part voting.

[42] Majed Khadra, the Spokesperson of the Supreme Constitutional Court, also announced that the losing candidates and individuals with complaints about the electoral process had 3 days to submit their appeals.

He stated that the court would decide the outcome in the 7 days following the three-day appeal period, and then would announce the name of the declared winner by means of the Speaker of the People's Assembly.

But whilst Gelman argues that the published counts were fabricated, he notes that it does not preclude the theory that those numbers could have been generated retrospectively (and unprofessionally) from valid percentages.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace analyst Aron Lund noted that [T]he government claims that a total of 11,634,412 Syrians took part in the election.