“While expressing my satisfaction with the occurrence of this significant and hope-inspiring event, which is in line with democracy, I hereby congratulate this victory to the Syrian nation and your good self wholeheartedly,” wrote Rouhani.

Syria’s opposition has vowed to continue its uprising against  Bashar al-Assad, saying his election to a new seven-year term was “illegitimate”.

“The Syrian National Coalition reaffirmed that this election is illegitimate and does not represent the Syrian people”, it said about the so-called election, AFP reported.

“The people are continuing in their revolution until its goals of freedom, justice and democracy are reached.”

U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry called the election “a great big zero.” It can’t be considered fair, he said, “because you can’t have an election where millions of your people don’t even have an ability to vote.”

“Nothing has changed from the day before the election and the day after. Nothing,” Kerry said during a one-day visit Wednesday to the Lebanese capital. “The conflict is the same, the terror is the same, the killing is the same.”

The European Union joined others condemning the election, saying in a statement that “it cannot be considered as a genuinely democratic vote.”

British Foreign Office called the election in Syria as “a grotesque parody of democracy.”