The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. June 5, 2014 Assad Claims Election Victory; U.N. Aid Chief Appeals for Access to Besieged Areas ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has declared a landslide victory in elections dismissed by rivals as a sham. The Syrian government says Assad took more than 88 percent of the vote, which was held mostly in areas under his control. At the United Nations, Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos appealed to Assad for greater access to besieged areas. Valerie Amos: "If I were able to speak to him right now I would say, 'Put the people of Syria first.' I mean that has been my message from day one. If you put the people of Syria first then I think the rest falls from that in terms of our ability to make sure the people are properly fed, that they have enough water, they have proper sanitation, that they have healthcare, that they're able to educate their children and crucially, that they have peace, security and stability." .