2021 Syrian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Syria on 26 May 2021, with expatriates able to vote in some embassies abroad on 20 May. This was the last presidential election to be held in Ba'athist Syria, prior to its overthrow following the 2024 Syrian opposition offensive.

The three candidates were incumbent president Bashar al-Assad, Mahmoud Ahmad Marei and Abdullah Sallum Abdullah. The elections were considered not to be free and fair. The United Nations condemned the elections as an illegitimate process with "no mandate"; accusing the Ba'athist regime of undermining UN Resolution 2254 and for obstructing the UN-backed political solution that calls for a "free and fair elections" under international monitoring.

Prior to the elections, several countries and intergovernmental organisations expressed concerns about the fairness and legitimacy of the election, and stated they would not recognize the results. In what was considered by some international observers to be a foregone conclusion and by many as an "empty election" marked by fraud, the result was a landslide victory for Assad, who won over 95% of the vote.

Officials said 79% of voters took part, but in the context of the ongoing civil war and subsequent population displacement, this figure has been questioned. The government claimed over 18,000,000 "eligible" voters, but because ballots were only offered in areas under government control, only just over 10,000,000 were actually able to vote, while, according to the official results, Assad won over 13,000,000 votes, technically meaning a voter turnout of 130%. Many observers and analysts noted that these numbers exceeded the possible number of adult voters in government-held areas of the country. Assad was sworn in for his fourth term (2021–2028) on 17 July 2021 at the Presidential Palace.

Assad ultimately did not complete his term, after his government collapsed on 8 December 2024.