Syria's Assad wins 4th term with 95% of vote, in election the West calls fraudulent

Parliament Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh announces the results of the Syrian presidential election at the Syrian parliament building in Damascus, Syria, May 27, 2021. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office with 95.1% of the votes in an election that will extend his rule over a country ruined by war but which opponents and the West say was marked by fraud.

Assad's government says the election on Wednesday shows Syria is functioning normally despite the decade-old conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven 11 million people - about half the population - from their homes.