SANAA, 2 May 2003 — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday called a new session of Parliament for May 10 after his General People’s Congress (GPC) party won a decisive lead in an election marred by violence and reported irregularities.
Saleh, who has been president since 1978, accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Abdul Qader Bajammal and his Cabinet yesterday and called for the formation of a new government, the official SABA news agency said. “The president asked the government to continue its duties until a new government is formed,” it said.
According to partial results announced on Wednesday, the GPC won 214 seats in the 301-member Parliament and the main opposition, the Islamist Al-Islah (Reform) Party, secured 40. The Yemeni Socialist Party took seven seats, and counting was still going on in 21 constituencies.
In the outgoing house, the GPC had 226 seats and Al-Islah held 62. An assortment of other parties and independents made up the balance. Al-Islah and smaller opposition parties have alleged that the ruling party rigged the vote at a number of polling stations and have made clear they have not decided whether to take their seats in the next Parliament.
Ten people, including three policemen, were killed and 25 injured during voting on Sunday or in subsequent electoral unrest, despite an “honor code” reached by the parties against violence, according to a police official overseeing the polls.
According to the official Election Commission, 76 percent of Yemen’s eight million eligible voters turned out.
The Washington-based National Democratic Institute, which monitored the election, said the polling had flaws, including ballot buying, underage voting and inappropriate behavior by security forces. Nonetheless, it called the election “another significant step forward on Yemen’s path toward democracy,” a view that was also echoed by US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
“The United States extends its congratulations to the people of Yemen and the Yemeni government for its conduct of these elections,” Powell said in a statement on Wednesday. Powell called Yemen’s elections, and a referendum on Tuesday in Qatar that approved a constitution that allows a limited democracy under the aegis of the ruling family, “significant milestones.” “These are important developments for Yemen, Qatar, and the region as a whole, and we will continue to work as partners with Yemen and Qatar — and our friends throughout the region — as they build the institutions and practices of a democratic society,” Powell said.
Bajammal, the outgoing premier, hailed the vote, the third since north and south Yemen were united in 1990, “a success.” The legislative elections proved that the democratic process is our path toward a modern Yemen, economic and social progress, and projects for security and stability,” he said.
