Syrian President Bashar al-Assad signed on Tuesday a draft Constitution that was approved a day earlier by nearly 90 percent of voters amid ongoing bloodshed in the opposition stronghold city of Homs, the Xinhua agency reported, citing the Syrian state-run SANA news agency.
A controversial, government-backed constitution that, as Assad said, will promise the end to single-party rule and give the green light to multiparty elections, was approved on Monday with 89.4 percent of votes in favor of the document.
Though the voting turnover was put at 57.4 percent, foreign diplomats who observed the polling stations in Damascus, said they had seen very few voters take part.
The opposition had called for a boycott of the referendum amid an ongoing brutal crackdown on the city of Homs.
According to the opposition Local Coordination Committees, 64 people had been killed, while trying to flee Baba Amr neighborhood in Homs during heavy shelling by pro-Assad forces.
The United Sates has already called the referendum on the new constitution, which could keep Assad in power until 2028, a "sham" and "laughable."
Russia however praised the move, saying that it was an important step towards democracy.
The new constitution came as both Western and Arab nations increased their pressure on Assad’s regime, calling for an immediate end to bloodshed in Syria, which according to Syrian rights groups has claimed more than 7,000 lives since the beginning of the uprising against the current authorities 11 months ago.
