Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been re-elected in a landslide yesterday, capturing another seven-year term in the middle of a bloody three-year-old uprising against his rule that has devastated the country.

Waving photos of their leader and dancing with flags, tens of thousands of Syrians pledged renewed allegiance to President Bashar al-Assad as they voted across government-controlled parts of the country in a presidential election decried by the opposition as a charade.

Polls have opened in Syria’s government-held areas amid massive security for the country’s presidential election, a vote Bashar Assad is widely expected to win.