A Foreign Diplomat Comments on Elections in Yemen [Archives:1999/28/Local News]

“I am really very depressed to see the way the presidential elections will be held,” said a European diplomat in Sanaa. He also indicated that the European countries and other organizations supporting the democratic transition in Yemen hoped that there would be a real and heated competition in which all parties would introduce their candidates and compete in a decent way in order to enhance democracy in our country and establish a tradition for a peaceful and quiet transfer of power in the country.
The same source, who requested anonymity, said that the reservation of some parties from participating in the elections and their resorting to using another person who does not belong to their party, is a clear indication of the political crisis in Yemen. All this supports and serves the majority party, since the strongest among the opposition has declared to choose Ali Abdullah Saleh as its candidate in the presidential elections. The Islah Party’s declaration, before the completion of the PGC’s conference, was an attempt to choose the person of the time before the declaration of the PGC.
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