DHAKA: Voting is due to get under way in Syria's presidential election amid heightened security, reports BBC.

The poll takes place three years into a civil war in which tens of thousands of people have died and millions more are displaced.

President Bashar al-Assad is widely expected to win a third seven-year term in office.

However, critics of the Syrian government have denounced the election as a sham.

Analysts say Syrian officials have gone to great lengths to present the vote as a way to resolve the crisis.

It is the first time in decades that more than one name has appeared on the ballot paper.

BDST: 0922 HRS, JUN 05, 2014