Arab Union presidential election

The Union of Arab Republics holds a presidential election once every six years, in which each federal political party may field a candidate for the primary round as may independents field themselves. Candidates are given from the 1st of March to the 1st of November to have themselves fielded as primary round candidates.

The primary always takes place on the nearest Friday to the 10th of November (Friday is the first of the two-day weekend in the Arab Union), and involves all registered voters casting a vote for a particular fielded candidate. The three candidates receiving the most votes then move on to the secondary round.

The secondary (and final) round involves the submission of a ballot, in which the names of the three shortlisted presidential candidates are printed next to a blank square. The voter must mark the square of their preferred candidate with either a check-mark or an X; ballots containing other symbols in the square, as well as ballots with no candidate or more than one candidate selected, are not counted. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes wins the presidency, taking office on the first day of the following year. In the event of a tie, the secondary round is repeated; this has only ever happened once, and at no time in history has the repetition of the secondary round resulted in a second tie.

According to the constitution, there is no limit to the number of terms (consecutive or otherwise) a president may serve. As such, a sitting president, regardless of the amount of terms already served, may field themself as a candidate for a new presidential election. For example, the current sitting president, Bashar al-Assad, was elected in 1999, 2005, 2011 and 2017 (taking office in January 2000), and is expected to run for president again in 2023.