Syrians voted in a parliamentary election in government-held areas of the country on Wednesday in what they called a show of support for President Bashar al-Assad, while his opponents and Western powers denounced the poll as illegitimate.<br />The election went ahead independently of a U.N.-led peace process aimed at ending the five-year-long war.<br />A second round of talks began in Geneva on Wednesday but an upsurge in fighting has darkened the already bleak outlook for diplomacy.<br />The government said the vote was held to comply with the constitution, a view echoed by its Russian allies.<br />The opposition, which wants the new peace talks to focus on a political transition, said the election was meaningless, while Britain and France called it a "flimsy facade" and a "sham".
