For 2nd time, Syrian elections delayed over coronavirus

This picture taken on May 4, 2020 during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan shows members of the displaced Syrian family of Tariq Abu Ziad, from the town of Ariha in the southern countryside of the Idlib province, breaking their fast together for the sunset "iftar" meal, in the midst of the rubble of their destroyed home upon their return to the town after fleeing during the previous military assault on the town by Syrian government forces and their allies. (AFP)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addresses the government committee that oversees measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on May 4, 2020. (SANA via Reuters)

DAMASCUS: Syria’s President Bashar Assad issued a decree Thursday postponing the country’s parliamentary elections until July — the second such delay in light of restrictions in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The elections were initially scheduled for April 13, then in March, a presidential decree delayed them until May 20. The latest decree pushes the new date to July 19, only saying it is part of the government’s “preventive measures to combat coronavirus.”
Syria has recorded only 45 cases of infections and three deaths because of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
The Syrian government has began gradually easing restrictions imposed since mid-March to fight the virus, but schools and universities remain closed and a nighttime curfew is in place.
Syria has already elected two parliaments since the start of the 2011 uprising, which plunged the country into a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions. The last parliament was elected in April 2016, when large parts of Syria were outside of government control and people there did not take part in the polling.