Universities’ role in elections [Archives:2003/633/Community]

By Abduallah Mohammed al-Mujhed
Dhamar University President
April 27 is the democracy day. It is the embodiment of President Ali Abduallah Saleh's call for the national alignment following a series of political and economic reforms and social changes. Yemen considers the elections as a forward step on the road of political reforms in the country towards democracy, healing the rift and enhancement of its unity. Elections are an opportunity for the people's participation and providing opportunity to various political trends representing the political spectrum to practice their role in line with the Yemeni constitution.
Yemen is an important country in the region characterized by its distinguished political experiment in this field especially in its model of political action and civil society organizations. It has prominent political cadres and therefore the candidates for the parliamentary elections include prominent intellectual and political personalities who would render the Yemeni society more politically, economically and socially interactive with development changes the country is experiencing. The Yemeni government is looking forward to the success of the parliamentary experiment through the executive and legislative cooperation and aspiration towards future.
Yemen has allowed all political parties to take part in electoral process and democratic practice and that has led to uprooting social conflict and erasing resentment in the society.
Universities have been used to that democratic practice as a source of radiation for the electoral process and they effectively participate in bringing to success their role in this field. Universities, with all their staff seek to show the electoral process in a proper image by participation and cooperation with candidates for specifying electoral places and headquarters besides using all available media for preparing convenient atmospheres to candidates so that the elections are conducted in a proper manner.
The university has prepared for candidates all requirements of candidature such as distributing election cards, filling candidates' forms, holding training courses for committees supervising elections in the governorate, holding awareness symposiums for villagers and countryside inhabitants to inform them on significance of elections in the governorate.
All transport facilities have been provided for all people working in this field to carry them to election areas. The aim is to ensure success of the electoral process as a most important democratic practice in our country basically adopted by our political leadership to guarantee the right of all. Besides, there are awareness programs conducted for the purpose of making them understand the way of election and polling.
Democratic atmospheres provide for all the people knowledge on how to play their essential role in life and deeming it an approach and behavior followed by all sectors of the people from all political spectra. Democracy would thus open the road for all segments of the people to follow in their quest for building themselves and achieving their aspired goals, especially in the educational aspect. The educated sector of the people is the main factor in the aim of eradicating illiteracy, its negative effects and curbing its spread in society. By eradicating illiteracy all democratic practices the Yemeni government is pursuing will be enhanced.
So the number of schools, universities and technical institutes has been increased due to public demands and legitimate competition by members of parliament who seek continuously to develop the educational process and the call for educational upgrading all over Yemen. Thus, investment plans set up by the leadership focused on expanding and improving the educational process. There is positive connection between democracy practice and educational progress. The more successful the democratic practice, the more important development is accomplished in the education sector.
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