Despite irregularities, EU and the US Tout Yemen Elections as a Success
October 2, 2006

The U.S. State Department congratulated Yemen “for conducting open, contested elections,” in a statement issued by Deputy Spokesperson Tom Casey.  The September 20 vote re-elected ruling president Ali Abdullah Saleh of the General People’s Congress (GPC), who received 77% of the 5.37 million votes cast.  The opposition led by former oil executive Faisal bin Shamlan “quibbled over the figures” released, but recognized “that Mr. Saleh won” according to a BBC News report. 
           
Reuters reported that the competition leading up to the elections was “unprecedented”.  Voters went to the polls on September 20 to decide the presidential race, as well as at two other levels of local governments, choosing from over 20,000 candidates in the latter.  The presidential race consisted of five candidates, a large improvement from the 1999 elections which Saleh received 96% of the vote again “an obscure member of his own party”. 

The European Union Election Observation Mission had 119 observers at 340 polling stations across Yemen, calling the vote “an open and genuine contest.”  State run television gave “equal and free air time to all presidential candidates”, and allowed opposition parties to assemble in public.  European observers did acknowledge some irregularities at the polls such as underage voting, and voter intimidation.  There was also a low voter turnout for women, despite the fact that Yemen was the first country on the Arabian Penisula to grant universal suffrage.  Despite some of these shortcomings “many commentators say these elections are more transparent than previous ones” and “certainly more so than most other elections in the region” according to Reuters. 

The U.S. State Department press release also congratulated Yemen for completing the elections “free of widespread violence.”  Eight people were killed in “scattered bouts of violence” between opposition parties according to Fox News.  Despite minor violence and irregularities at polls, Reuters reports that the “elections were an overall success.”

Sources:

BBC News: Analysis: Yemen after the vote
FOX News: Opposition Parties Claim Fraud in Yemen Elections
Reuters: Yemen polls "genuine" despite breaches: EU observers
Reuters: YEMEN: Elections expected to be fraud free, say observers
Seattle Times: Yemen elections draw 5 million to the polls; president likely to be re-elected