In rebel-controlled parts of Syria there are no election posters or voting stations.
Towns in Aleppo province are portraits of destruction . Conversation is filled with anger and loss.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) 15-YEAR-OLD BOMB VICTIM MOHAMMED SAYING:
"These are traces of Assad's bombing; military air strikes."
Norway's TV2 visited the province in the days leading up to the election.
This man was out when a bomb hit. It killed 17 people. He survived but lost nearly his entire family.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) BOMB VICTIM AHMED SAWADI, 60, SAYING:
"There is nothing here, only families. We are all orphans. Everyone is civilian. Nothing else is left at all."
He speaks of the likely re-election of President Bashar al-Assad with contempt.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) BOMB VICTIM AHMED SAWADI, 60, SAYING:
"As to the election, how can a president wish to rule while he kills his people with air planes, rockets and tanks? "
There are signs of normalc