Yemen votes as Saleh's era ends

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Yemen votes as Saleh's era ends

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President Saleh's 33-year rule in Yemen ended in a negotiated settlement.

21 February,2012 11:40 am

Voters queued on Tuesday to cast ballots in a poll that brings an end to President Ali Abdullah Salehs 33-year hardline rule in Yemen, the first Arab state where a revolt ended in a negotiated settlement.Voting began at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) in the referendum-like poll, in which Salehs deputy Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi is standing as the sole candidate.Men and women formed separate queues outside polling stations in Sanaas northern district near Change Square, epicentre of a year of anti-regime protests against Salehs regime.We were surprised at the large number of women present even before polling stations opened, said Abir Afifi, who is in charge of a female polling booth.In Aden, Yemens main southern city, smaller crowds were seen heading to the polls in the neighbourhoods of Khor Maksar and Crater, an AFP correspondent there reported.More than 12 million Yemenis are eligible to vote -- 10 million registered in the last elections in 2006 in addition to 2.2 million new voters.The turnout in the single-candidate election will give some idea of the support 66-year-old Hadi has from his countrymen to lead the transitional period.The poll is being boycotted by two major opposition groups; the separatist Southern Movement and the northern Shiite rebels.But the main proponents of the uprising that began in January 2011 have asked Yemenis to throw their support behind Hadi, whose posters have been plastered across buildings and throughout the streets of the capital Sanaa.The situation remains tense across the south, where hardline factions of the Southern Movement have called for marking Tuesday a day of civil disobedience.Attacks on polling stations and clashes between troops and anti-election protesters in the south have raised fears that polling day could be marred by violence.One man was wounded at dawn when unknown gunmen opened fire at a polling station in Adens neighbourhood of Dar Saad, a security official told AFP.The army responded to the source of fire and a passerby was hurt, the official said.The authorities have deployed 103,000 soldiers to guard polling stations, said Mohammed Yahya, chairman of the Electoral Commission.Hadi, himself a southerner, pledged on Sunday to address the concerns of southern separatists and northern rebels, saying that dialogue and only dialogue can resolve these long-standing conflicts.Yemens new president will rule for an interim two-year period, after which presidential and parliamentary elections will be held, a condition of the Gulf-brokered transition deal signed by Saleh in November.However Salehs shadow looms large over Tuesdays vote.The veteran strongman maintains a strong hold over the most powerful security forces and there is also speculation that he might return from the United States, where he is receiving medical treatment, as soon as Wednesday.In a speech published on state news agency Saba Monday, Saleh, spared the fates of his ousted Arab counterparts, urged Yemenis to vote for his deputy to ensure a peaceful transition of power.Autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt were forced to resign last year, bowing down to mass uprisings.In Libya, rebels backed by NATO forces captured and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in October.Results are expected in the two following days, although under Yemeni law it can take up to 10 days before full results are announced.In a televised speech on Sunday, Hadi promised radical reforms and stressed the need to reunify the army.The military has been divided since last March when some units defected to support the uprising against Salehs rule.Hadi also pledged to fight Al-Qaeda and its growing influence in the lawless south and eastern provinces, where the militants have seized several towns in recent months.