The Syrian Democratic Council (Masad) announced that it would not participate in the presidential elections on Wednesday, rejecting to play a role in an event that contravenes the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The Syriac Union Party called on the Assyrian people and all Syrians to boycott the elections, while the Democratic Union Party said that holding presidential elections would not contribute to resolving the crisis, adding that half of the Syrians were refugees or displaced. In a statement published on its official account on Monday, Masad said that it was not concerned with any elections that do not meet the aspirations of the Syrian people. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Elham Ahmad, the Council’s executive chair, said: “We will not be part of the electoral process and our position is constant: no elections before a political solution in accordance with international decisions, the release of detainees, and the return of the displaced.” The Syriac Union Party, one of the Christian parties established for the Autonomous Administration east of the Euphrates and which receives support from the international coalition led by Washington, called on all the Assyrian Syriac people and all Syrians to boycott the elections. “Presidential elections in Syria come with the aim of consolidating the regime’s influence and domination over the areas it controls; it is an attempt to give the regime a certain legitimacy,” the Union said in a statement. As for the Syrian Democratic Union - one of the most prominent political parties in the eastern Euphrates - it emphasized that the present time was not suitable for holding presidential elections. “The conditions the country is going through are unfavorable, and these elections do not contribute to solving the Syrian crisis,” it said in a statement.