Election-Related Security May Increase [Archives:2001/07/Local News]

Heated debate and competition between candidates running for local elections on February 20th is accelerating at the moment. They kicked off their propaganda campaigns last Monday amid some problems and security breakdowns in different parts of Yemen.We shall here focus on the main incidents that took place last week. 
A group of armed men broke into the office of the election committee in constituency No. 252 in Jehanah, Khowlan. They tore out all the election propaganda materials of candidates. They even threatened to take all the voting boxes. The attacking tribesmen demanded reconsidering the division of Khowlan and dividing it into three districts according to the orders of the President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They threatened to close down the electoral center in the area if their demands were not met. 
In Al-Dal’e governorate, some explosions took place during the last few weeks. This has put the governor Saleh Al-Junaid in a fix and made him ask for more military supplies in order to provide more protective measures. He also asked for finance to cover their expenses. 
In Al-Shaghaderah area, Hajah, a candidate murdered his father-in-law in a dispute over who will win the election. The candidate Ali shu’ee Maki, a member of the National Front Party was agitated by Shu’ee Ali Amar, PGC member, who betted that Maki would lose the election as he belongs to a small party which is like a puppet in the hands of the PGC. 
In Marib, two were killed and three injured last Wednesday in an ambush by tribesmen owing to tribal revenge between Al-Fukara and Azwamilah tribes. The car of the Al-Fukara tribesmen was considerably damaged too. The tribesmen used different kinds of weapons in the clashes. 
Sources at the Supreme Election Committee (SEC) told Yemen Times this clash might stop voting in the area if the government did not stop the confrontation. Not only this, it is reported that no candidates will run for election in around six electoral centers, as tribesmen in these centers and others decided to boycott the election owing to some tribal retaliation problems. This made the SEC extend the period of accepting applications from candidates in an attempt to avoid the disruption of the election in some centers in Sadah, Al-Jawf, Amran, Al-Baidah, Al-Mahrah, Sanaa, Ibb, and Shabwah. 
On Friday, a group of armed tribesmen belonging to Al-Jurmuzi clan in the governorate of Sanaa, constituency No. 256 intimidated the election committee in the area. As a result, security men with heavy weapons were sent to the area to free the marooned people but the tribesmen exchanged fire with them and the number of victims is still unknown. The tribesmen demanded the acceptance of their nominated candidate who was rejected by the SEC as he is illiterate. But, the tribesmen could not understand this and clung to their demand. 
Last Saturday, demonstrations were staged in Malah in Lahj in protest against their MP, Ahmad Al-Hanshi, a PGC member, as he pressurized candidates- also PGC members – in the area to withdraw. He wanted them to be replaced with candidates from his tribe. They, moreover, fired against each other. Political observers think this will affect the unity of PGC in Lahj and reduce its share of winning candidates. 
Amid such chaos and security lapses, the political parties are launching media barrages against each other making the competition soar high. It is feared that more security problems and incidents between voters having different political and tribal affiliations will emerge in the coming few days, prior to voting.
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