» 02/21/2012 09:47 YEMEN Elections in Sanaa: the end (maybe) of Saleh’s power Power will pass to the current vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, the only candidate. The family of Saleh, who ruled the country for 33 years, remains at the head of the army, security and economy. Saudi Arabia and the United States support the old regime.
Sanaa (AsiaNews /
Agencies) - The population of Yemen
is now called upon to elect a new president, which should put an end to the
government of Ali Abdullah Saleh, which lasted 33 years.
The elections are the result of almost a year of violent protests, hastily read
as an "Arab spring".
Actually, Saleh signed an agreement that he would only resign once a new
president has been elected. He himself yesterday urged the people to vote for
Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. The point is that Hadi is also the only
candidate in the running and according to the electoral laws, there is there is
no minimum percentage of voters to make the election valid. This means that
Hadi will be elected anyway, even with only one vote. Sporadic violence was reported
yesterday in some voting stations, one person was killed.
According to analysts, although Saleh will resign, his influence in the country
remains very strong: his son and grandchildren are at the head of the army and
security apparatus, and his relatives are at the top of many political and
economic groups. He will remain in the country as the leader of the majority
party, the General People's Congress Party.
He will still face a strong opposition that includes tribal, military and
businessmen tired of the domination of Saleh family.
Last June, Saleh was attacked while praying in the mosque of the presidential
palace and took refuge "for treatment" in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis (together
with the U.S.)
seem to be his biggest supporter, fearful of seeing the chaos in a neighboring
country, where there are strong groups of Islamic radicals linked to al Qaeda.
