Election Date: September 20, 2006

Abstract: At stake: President

At stake: President

Background

For centuries, Yemen has linked Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In 1962, following the death of Imam Ahmad, army officers seized power and established the Yemen Arab Republic in the north. Five years later, Aden and the former Protectorate of South Arabia would become a single entity, adopting the name People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

Ali Abdullah Saleh served as the president of the Yemen Arab Republic—or North Yemen—from 1978 to 1990, when he became the head of state of the new merged state of Yemen. The country survived a short civil war in 1994, and remains unified today.

In the 1999 election, Saleh earned a seven-year term with 96.3 per cent of all cast ballots. His only rival was Najeeb Qahtan Al-Sha'abi, a member of the governing General People's Congress Party (MSA) who was running as an independent.

An Oct. 12, 2000 terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole—later attributed to al-Qaeda—killed 17 American sailors. In November 2001, Saleh vowed to support the operations of the war on terrorism.

In April 2003, Yemen renewed the Assembly of Representatives. The governing MSA secured 239 of the 320 seats at stake.

Click here for Yemen 2003 Election Tracker

2006 Presidential Election

In July 2005, Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that he would not seek a new term in office. A poll conducted in April 2006 by the Yemeni Center for Public Opinion and the An-Nass Foundation for the Press found that 42 per cent of respondents supported Saleh's decision not to run for president again, but said 57 per cent would vote for him if he changed his mind.

In May, Saleh complained about the current political climate, declaring, "Certain groups are seeking to exacerbate tensions in political circles in advance of election fever, and they all have to assume their responsibilities and bear the consequences of their acts. (...) Those who choose reason will be preaching unity, cooperation and coexistence, and those who go for madness will be inciting strife, divisions and hatred."

In late May, governing General People's Congress Party (MSA) deputy secretary-general Sultan Burkani criticized the opposition Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah), calling it "opportunist and manipulative" and accusing its members of corruption and embezzlement when they participated in a coalition government in 1994.

Islah lawmaker Hamid al-Ahmar rejected the assertion, declaring, "The authorities can rectify their policies by opening up to political forces allowing them to exercise their political rights instead of pushing them to think about a popular uprising,"

On Jun. 24, during an MSA rally in Sana, Saleh announced that he will be a presidential candidate once again, saying, "In response to your calls and statements, I say I am with you to sail together to the shore of security and stability, freedom and democracy." Earlier in the same speech, Saleh had dismissed running again.

On Jun. 25, the members of an opposition alliance encompassing Islah, the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), the Nasserite Unionist People's Organization (TWSN) and the Baath Arab Socialist Party (Baath), expressed disappointment with Saleh's reversal. Mohammed al-Rubai declared, "It shows that the president wasn't serious in his earlier decision. I wish he hadn't initially announced that he would step down. There was no need for such farce."

Former South Yemen leader Haider Abu Bakr al-Attas also criticized the ruling party, saying, "Choosing the candidate of MSA by using this frail play paves the way for the opposition to work earnestly and responsibly along with people to make real democratic change and to contest the election with confidence and strong will."

On Jul. 2, a five-party opposition alliance—the Joint Meeting Parities (JMP)—nominated former South Yemen oil and infrastructure minister Faisal Bin Shamlan as their presidential candidate. A statement said Bin Shamlan would provide "all opportunities made available to Yemen that were lost" and rid the country of "poverty, backwardness, poor living standards, epidemics, illiteracy, and corruption."

On Jul. 5, Saleh criticized the opposition's choice, declaring, "They looked for an outsider to represent them in the presidential elections, and they said he was honest and clean handed. Aren't there honest and clean-handed politicians among the leaders of those parties?"

By Jul. 10, 64 candidates—including three women—had submitted their paperwork to run in the presidential election. In order to be nominated, all candidates require the endorsement of at least five per cent of the Assembly of Representatives. The final list was released on Jul. 14, and included Saleh, Bin Shamlan, Yassin Abdo Said of the National Council Parties, Socialist party member Ahmed al-Majidi, and independent candidate Fathi al-Azab.

On Aug. 16, in a meeting with monitors from the European Union (EU), Saleh guaranteed a "transparent and honest" election. Campaign activities officially began on Aug. 23.

In early September, more than 50 people died and 200 more were injured during a stampede in a Salleh campaign rally.

A September poll by the Yemen Polling Center placed Saleh as the frontrunner with 49 per cent, followed by Bin Shamlan with 30 per cent.

On Sept. 17, Bin Shamlan criticized the process, saying, "In the current circumstances, these elections have a 60 to 75 per cent chance of being free and fair." MSA spokesman Mohammad Abulahoum said the election would be more competitive this time around, adding, "These are our first real multi-party elections. We take them seriously. The MSA has to work hard."

Voting took place on Sept. 20. Preliminary results released on Sept. 21 suggested that Saleh had received 82 per cent of the vote. European Union (EU) observers described the ballot as an "open and genuine contest", but cited "many instances" where state resources were used in favour of the governing party, as well as "breaches of the secrecy of the vote, illegal assistance and clearly underaged voters."

On Sept. 22, JMP spokesman Mohammad Qahtan rejected the results, adding, "We will call on our supporters to take to the streets."

On Sept. 27, Bin Shamlan conceded, declaring, "The announced results are a reality and the coalition opposition is dealing with that."

On Sept. 28, Saleh was sworn in for a new term. In his inaugural address, the Yemeni president promised to "pursue the democratic process, safeguard unity, security and stability, fight against poverty and create jobs."

Political Players

President: Ali Abdullah Saleh - MSA
Prime Minister: Abdul-Qader Bagammal - MSA

The president is elected by popular vote to a seven-year term.

Legislative Branch: The Majlis al-Nuwaab (Assembly of Representatives) has 301 members, elected to six-year terms in single-seat constituencies.

Results of Last Election:

President - Sept. 20, 2006

	Vote%
Ali Abdullah Saleh - General People's Congress (MSA)	77.17%
Faisal Bin Shamlan - Joint Meeting Parities (JMP)	21.82%
Fathi al-Azab - Independent	0.45%
Yassin Abdo Said - National Council Parties	0.45%
Ahmed al-Majidi - Socialist Party	0.15%

Assembly of Representatives - Apr. 27, 2003

	Vote%	Seats
General People's Congress (MSA)	58.01%	238
Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah)	22.55%	46
Yemen Socialist Party (YSP)	3.84%	8
Nasserite Unionist People's Organization (TWSN)	1.85%	3
Baath Arab Socialist Party (Baath)	0.68%	2
Non-Partisans	12.21%	4

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