Yemen Times Elections UpdateYemeni elections: A historical look [Archives:2006/973/Reportage]
Ismail Al-Ghabiri
President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared his previous resolution regarding his intention not to nominate himself for a new term while celebrating his 27th anniversary in power, which he assumed July 17, 1978. Now, after 28 years in power, Saleh is running in the upcoming presidential elections, seeking a new seven-year term. If he wins, his reign will extend to 35 years, thus making him the first republican president to rule for that long, and he would become the second Yemeni ruler to spend that long in office, after Imam Yahya Hamid Al-Din.
Succeeding his father, Imam Yahya ruled Yemen from 1904, when Turkish Othman forces left Yemen, and remained in power until assassinated in 1948.
According to the newly amended Yemeni Constitution, no Yemeni president should remain in power more than two seven-year terms and he should come to power via impartial and direct elections.
Yemen witnessed its first presidential election in 1999, wherein President Saleh ran against General People's Congress (GPC) member, Najeeb Qahtan Al-Sha'abi. Saleh achieved an overwhelming victory over his rival. Still, he has the right to run for a new term, to be his last.
Yemen in the democratic age
The first free elections in North Yemen since the outbreak of the Sept. 26, 1962 revolution were conducted in 1988 under Saleh's regime, as citizens directly elected Consultative Council members. Despite the fact that the Yemeni field was filled with political streams with different trends, Yemen's Constitution didn't allow any partisan or political polarity. It was considered taboo, for which the law provided punishment at that time.
Following Yemen's May 22, 1990 unification, political polarity was adopted and voting on the republic's constitution was conducted later. Among other items, the new constitution adopted the principle of partisan and political polarity and peaceful transfer of power under a regime raising the slogan of democracy and exerting efforts to achieve it. Democracy is citizens' option and an expression of their wish, as dictated in the Sept. 26 revolution's goals.
The first parliamentary elections were held in 1993 and are considered the best elections Yemen thus far has witnessed because there was a fair amount of impartiality and neutrality. This fair election led to balance between the competing political powers and upon these results, a triple coalition government was formed – involving the GPC, the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) and the Islah (reform) party – becoming the second government formed following Yemeni unification.
A new round of parliamentary elections was conducted in 1997, but the political situation had changed greatly, as the YSP was sidelined following Yemen's 1994 civil war. Thus, the YSP became an opposition party and this was its first experience outside of power since its 1979 founding in South Yemen.
The YSP decided to boycott the 1997 parliamentary elections because it was busy rearranging its internal structure. Islah was the first party to announce that its candidate in the 1999 presidential election was President Saleh himself, as the party was a GPC ally at that time.
Another parliamentary round was conducted in 2003, with all political powers – whether authority or opposition – participating in it. In this election, the GPC achieved an overwhelming majority and the YSP returned to Parliament with seven seats, while Islah was set back, though it had achieved considerable success before.
Sept. 2006 election
In the aforementioned elections (1993, 1997, 1999, 2003), the contest was confined to the competing political parties, while the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER) played the role of judge in those competitions.
The situation now is different than in the past, as the SCER has been reformed. Additionally, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) since have come into existence and it's the first time they've united and agreed to nominate a single candidate to run against President Saleh in the upcoming Sept. 20 presidential election.
From the election law:
Item 112: The presidential term is to be seven years, beginning from the date upon which the president takes the oath. It's impermissible for anyone to hold the presidency for more than two seven-year terms.
Item 113: If the parliamentary term expires at the same time the presidential term ends, then the president will continue his job until parliamentary elections are held and the new council meets. The new president is to be elected within 60 days of the first day on which the new council meets.
Item 114: Ninety days prior to the presidential term's expiration, the new procedures for electing a new president will take effect and he should be elected a week before the 90 days end. If this period ends without electing a new president, then under parliamentary authorization, the ex-president is to remain in his job for a period not exceeding 90 days. This period can be prolonged in the event of war, natural catastrophe or any other situation wherein conducting elections is impossible.
Item 115: If the president of the republic wishes to resign, he should tender a justified resignation to Parliament, whose resolution to accept the resignation should be made with an overwhelming majority. If the resignation isn't accepted, the president then has the right to tender it again within the next three months and Parliament should accept it.
Item 116: When the presidential seat is vacant or he permanently is impaired from working, the tasks of the presidency will be delegated to the vice president for a period of not more than 60 days from the vacancy date. Elections to choose a new president are to be held during this 60-day term. When the posts of both the president and the vice president are vacant, presidential tasks will be performed by Parliament's presidency board. If Parliament was dissolved, the government then is delegated to perform presidential tasks. The new president is to be elected within no more than 60 days from the date on which the new Parliament's first meeting is held.
Item 117: The law specifies the president's salaries and allocations and he has no right to receive other salaries or premiums.
Item 118: While in power, the president isn't allowed to do any other job, whether commercial, industrial or financial. He also has no right to buy or rent anything belonging to the state, even at auction. Further, he has no right to rent or sell any of his belongings to the state.
Item 119: The president is delegated to perform the following tasks:
1. Representing the republic both inside and outside the country.
2. Calling voters in due time to elect Parliament.
3. Calling a general referendum.
4. Authorizing an individual to form a government and issuing a republican decree naming its members.
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