Yemeni president agrees to quit

Dunya News

President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to quit in return for immunity from prosecution.

Saleh’s expected exit puts him on course to be the third veteran Arab leader toppled by protesters in past few months.Tens of thousands have hit the streets, in the nation of 23 million, demanding the end to his 32 year rule. Demonstrators have accused him of corruption and mismanagement during his time in power.The plan drawn up by the Gulf Cooperation Council proposes Saleh hands over power to his vice president a month after it is signed with the opposition.Saleh presided over the unification of North Yemen and South Yemen in 1990. He was elected president by parliament in October 1994, and first directly elected president in September 1999, winning 96.3 percent of the vote. Most recently, he was re-elected in September 2006 to a seven-year term.