'Syria's presidential elections to create new destiny'

DAMASCUS (Xinhua) - Hassan Nouri, one of the three Syrian presidential candidates, said the June 3 presidential vote is "real" and "serious," and will create a new destiny for Syria.

"It's a new election, real election, and serious one and Syria after the election wouldn't be like Syria before the elections," Nouri said in an interview with Xinhua on Saturday.

Nouri, 54, declared his candidacy for the June 3 elections, alongside Maher Hajjar, a lawmaker, and incumbent President Bashar al-Assad. The presidential vote was dismissed by the exiled opposition and their Western backers as "farce."

During the interview, Nouri urged the Syrian people to "go and participate in this election and choose the right person, because this election will create a new destiny for Syria, believe it or not."

Nouri projected himself as a visionary and reformer, saying the solution for the three-year-old Syrian crisis is to find a "solid vision concerning the future of Syria."

With his "macro policy" if elected, Nouri said he "wants to fight the wrong distribution of wealth, and to bring back the middle class society, which is why we need to work hard to redistribute the wealth of the nation among a larger part of the country."

As to President Bashar al-Assad, Nouri said that he agrees with him on countering terrorism, but disagree with his handling of economic issues.

"Probably I don't defer from the current president concerning the political code, because fighting terrorism is an agreement between him and me," he said.

"I don't think the president have the right solid vision and policy concerning the Syrian economy. Maybe he has tried his best, but the people who were in charge of the economy failed him," he added.

Nouri further distinguished himself from other presidential candidates, saying he is "not representing any party, or the traditional or political era in Syria."

"I am representing the society, the silent group majority who don't care about politics or who the president is," he said. "They want their food on the table, they want to eat, they want security, they want to stop the fight, they want to walk on the street without fear and that's what they are looking for."

He pointed out the current government could not really cover all these areas, which is one of the main direct reasons for the crisis right now.

But he also said he had to give some "pluses" to the Syrian government.

"People sometimes criticize me when I give pluses to the government. I have to, because this government has been ruling the country for 44 years and made Syria a regional leader," he said. " How could it become a regional leader without positives and advantages."

The US-educated candidate admitted that he does not have better chances than Assad, but urged the president to "understand himself that the leadership shouldn't be dealt with by a one-man- show approach."

"If I win the election, I will be open to cooperating with other candidates ... to create leaders' team not only a one-man- show," he reiterated.

Nouri said that there is no loser in the elections, as "we are all winners, and the most important winner in this election is Syria."

Nouri served as minister of administrative development and minister of state for parliamentary affairs from 2000 to 2002. He also served as the general secretary of the Chamber of Industry from 1997 to 2000, and was a member of the Syrian Parliament from 1998 to 2003.

He holds a doctorate in public management from the United States and a doctorate in business administration from the European University of Switzerland, according to his campaign materials posted online.