Yemeni Jew who was said to run for elections to YT: I Did not Apply in the First Place [Archives:2001/06/Front Page]

In a statement to Yemen Times, Azar Ibraham Isaac Al-Nahri, a Jew from Raidah/Amran Governorate, denied reports by newspapers and news agencies that he had applied for candidacy in the local council elections scheduled for February 20. He told Yemen Times that he had not applied in the first place, as he changed his mind before applying for candidacy due to the possibility of being rejected. After his sects approval, he went to electoral center D of zone 233 to apply but was told that he was prohibited from participating in the elections because the electoral law allows only Muslims to be candidates.
Azar explained that he notified the local committee that receives applications that he may be applying, which resulted in the committee telling him that they will request a response from the Supreme Elections Committee (SEC) in this aspect. I am a member of the PGC, and all my sect members (reaching 150) have already registered their names in electoral lists. They all participated in the 1993 and 1997 parliamentary elections and the 1999 presidential elections, he said.
When asked about whether he will nominate himself he answered, I believe that if am accepted as a candidate after the needed amendments are made to the candidacy law, I will get votes even from many Arabs in the area. The constitution guarantees the rights of minorities. But even if I am not allowed to be a candidate, we will still be voting for the best person of our brother Muslim Arabs. After all, religion is for Allah, but the country is for all Yemenis.


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