Syria has been going through a bloody civil war now for about three years. This civil war has killed around 150,000 people and has caused three million people to leave the country. While there was a glimpse of hope for a new leader coming to power in a recent election, those hopes were crushed by voter fraud. President Bashar al- Assad has won 99 percent of the vote. Al- Assad was in power 14 years ago when he won with a similar amount of the vote as he did in this election. Al- Assad father, Hafez al-Assad, ruled Syria for 29 years before he died. The other candidates running against al- Assad are not well known candidates in the country. Hassan al-Nouri is a governer and former prime minister, and Maher Hajjar is a lawmaker. Critics said that the challengers are trying to simulate the democratic process.  Many political analysts say that the election was a fraud, and that al- Assad would cause more problems in the country. If Syria has the same ruler it did 14 years ago what would change in Syria? Would anything change? The blood shed may still continue in a country that is already damaged.