Syria's election shows depth of support for Assad

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — For all the serious flaws in Syria’s election, it underscored the considerable support that President Bashar Assad still enjoys from the population, including many in the majority Sunni Muslim community.

Syria’s conflict is often portrayed through one of its many prisms — that of a sectarian struggle, in which overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim rebels seek to topple Assad, who belongs to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The country’s rich tapestry of Christian and Muslim minorities, meanwhile, help keep Assad in power, fearing their fate if he were to fall.