As more reports of bloodshed and chaos emerged from Syria on Monday , the government announced it will hold presidential elections on June 3 . Parliament Speaker Mohammad Jihad al-Laham said the constitutional court will start accepting presidential nominations Tuesday . But it 's unclear whether the elections will yield any major change in Syria , which has been wracked by violence over the past three years . Well over 100,000 people , including many civilians , have been killed in the Syrian civil war , which pits government forces against rebels trying to end the Assad family 's four-decade rule . But new elections may not necessarily mean regime change . After President Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father in 2000 , he won a second term unopposed in 2007 . As the government announced the election date , opposition activists reported more barrel bombs raining down on neighborhoods across Syria . The explosives , which usually involve barrels stuffed with nails and other objects to maximize damage , fell in Daraa and Idlib provinces Monday , the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said . By midday Monday , at least nine people had been killed across the country , the LCC said . The political uprising against al-Assad 's regime began in Daraa province in 2011 . The Syrian regime has consistently said it is battling armed terrorist groups . On Monday , the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said demonstrators in Khan Arnabeh took to the streets to express support for the army `` in confronting terrorism . '' Over the past year , foreign fighters have joined both sides of the civil war .
The election will take place on June 3 , Syrian parliament speaker says . It 's unclear whether the election will yield any major change in the country . Comment: Opposition activists report barrel bombs falling across Syria on Monday .