Armies of Liberation

Amran is where the two YSP leaders (and the baby) were assassinated.

Thousands sentenced for Yemen vote fraud
DPA/Sanaa
Courts in Yemen’s western province of Amran have sentenced 14,522 people to suspended three-month jail terms each for registering to vote multiple times, the state Saba news agency reported yesterday. (Read on …)

Cabinet refers election amendments to the parliament, JMPs reject them
Wednesday 30 July 2008 22ouWed, 30 Jul 2008 22:42:36 +0300 10 PM / Mareb Press

The Cabinet referred yesterday to the parliament a draft amendment of some articles of the law No. 13 for the year 2001 regarding the general elections and referendum in order to complete constitutional procedures.

The spokesmen of the opposition Join Meeting Parties (JMPs), Mohammed al-Qubati, confirmed the refusal of JMPs for the government’s approval for the election amendments.

“The election amendments approved and referred by the cabinet to the parliament represent only the viewpoint of ruling party. These amendments are rejected by the JMPs because they do not include the whole election system,” he said.

He added the JMPs demanded to integrally amend the election system.

“In the case, the amendments referred to the parliament they will be rejected by the JMPs’ parliamentarian block,” he added.

Al-Qubati accused the government and ruling party of avoiding implementing the agreements that ensure conducting fair and free democratic elections.

He denied holding dialogues between the JMPs and the General People’s Congress over this issue. He added there is a contact between them over other issues.

The amendment draft is mainly focusing expanding the issue of challenges and approving the right to challenges against candidates for parliamentary and local elections during the period of nomination in addition to guarantying impartiality in civil service, public property and official media during electoral campaigns.

The amendments also include approving the right to file complaints during the electoral process, enhancing the current legal texts that confirm independence and impartiality of the Election Supreme committee, organizing the security in the elections, expanding the local, international observation over the election and determining the rights and commitments of observers.

This is good. The voter rolls are a mess, but this is an opportunity to straighten them out.

PARIS (Thomson Financial) – Gemalto said it has won an order from Yemen to supply an electronic identification system, which includes 10 mln electronic identity cards, in preparation for elections to be held in April 2009.

Financial details for the order were not disclosed.

The order includes the creation of a national biometric security registry, maintenance and local support services.

Formed from the merger of Axalto and Gemplus in 2006, Gemalto had third quarter sales of 400.6 mln eur, up 3 pct from a year earlier.

A report issued by the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP). Issue No. (4).

Giving electoral cards to the children,

means the failure of the Supreme

Using the public money and jobs:

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
84 ي 23/4/2006 The main place of the center was moved from Al-Mishraq school to the new center (the infirmary) after received an order from the director of Ibb province Mohammed Al-Muraisy
35 ح 23/4/2006 The observer Faris Abdullah Ali Al-Mikhlaffi was aggressed.
44 ا,ب,ز,ي 23/4/2006 Observers of Free Press Organization were not allowed to enter to the center, pretexting that they have received an oral generalization from the main committee.
70 ب 23/4/2006 Women observers were not allowed to enter to the center by the men subcommittee.
70 ب 23/4/2006 A woman observer was prevented from existing into the subcommittee by so-called Basam Mohammed Hassen (GPC).
194 ب,و 23/4/2006 Observers of Free Press Organization Aziz Mohammed Rashid, Amin Mohammed Al-Hajri and Bdoor Al-Ansi were fired by the security committee.
220 ش 23/4/2006 An observer of Free Press Organization Abdul Ghani Ali Al-Hadrami was not allowed to enter to the center.
220 ش 23/4/2006 Although Adel Al-Hadrami is not a member of the committee, he interferes in its works.

Committee. Using the public money and jobs:

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
84 ي 23/4/2006 The main place of the center was moved from Al-Mishraq school to the new center (the infirmary) after received an order from the director of Ibb province Mohammed Al-Muraisy
35 ح 23/4/2006 The observer Faris Abdullah Ali Al-Mikhlaffi was aggressed.
44 ا,ب,ز,ي 23/4/2006 Observers of Free Press Organization were not allowed to enter to the center, pretexting that they have received an oral generalization from the main committee.
70 ب 23/4/2006 Women observers were not allowed to enter to the center by the men subcommittee.
70 ب 23/4/2006 A woman observer was prevented from existing into the subcommittee by so-called Basam Mohammed Hassen (GPC).
194 ب,و 23/4/2006 Observers of Free Press Organization Aziz Mohammed Rashid, Amin Mohammed Al-Hajri and Bdoor Al-Ansi were fired by the security committee.
220 ش 23/4/2006 An observer of Free Press Organization Abdul Ghani Ali Al-Hadrami was not allowed to enter to the center.
220 ش 23/4/2006 Although Adel Al-Hadrami is not a member of the committee, he interferes in its works.

Stopping the committee works:

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
36 ي 23/4/2006 Sending complaints to the supervisory committee, because of stopping the work of the committee.
45 ن 23/4/2006 Continuing stopping of men and women subcommittee works since Friday, because of the unavailability of application forms.
75 أ2 23/4/2006 Stopping of committee’s works, because of the unavailability of cards and films.
82 ش 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
84 ي 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
86 ز,ك 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
87 د 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of the availability of only two committee members.
87 ز 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
89 ب،أ،و،ط،ح 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
93 د 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
94 ج 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
95 ك,ي 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
97 أ،ك،ي،ح،ز،هـ 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
102 ي،ز 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
106 م،ز،ل 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
111 ز 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of arm-conflicts between the two tribes (Bani Hussain & Bani Salah).
112 ز،ح،ط 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
113 ط،س،ز،ح،ك 23/4/2006 Stopping of recording, because of decreasing documents and films.
135 غ 23/4/2006 Stopping of committee’s works since Thursday till Saturday, because the committee was not received except ten cards.

A report issued by the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP). Issue No. (5).

(1224) legal violations of the Supreme Committee for Elections and Referendum (SCER) till now, and here are some models of them :

Hindering observers’ work:

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
34 24/4/2006 A group of the (GPC) has aggressed on the observer (Majid Assaeedi) and the police interfered in the quarrel and arrested him.
35 24/4/2006 Preventing observers from entering into the committee till the afternoon.
35 24/4/2006 Observers were bothered by the basic committee and members of security committees.
290 24/4/2006 The committee has rejected the observer (Hammid Abdu Assellahi).
123 24/4/2006 Illegally staying of persons in the committee.
9 24/4/2006 The committee didn’t register anybody but who brings photographs with him, because of running out of films.
9 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work the whole day because of running out of films.
17 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the evening because of running out of cards.
19 24/4/2006 The registration process was stopped after 10 o’clock AM.
35 24/4/2006 The cards were finished in the center.
35 24/4/2006 No films in the center during the morning.
35 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work on 23/4/2006 in all centers, because of running out of films.
52 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work on 23/4/2006 in two centers, because of running out of films.
61 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of films.
61 24/4/2006 The committee has left its place at 4 o’clock PM without any reason.
84 24/4/2006 The registration process was stopped, because of running out of films.
86 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of films.
87 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of films.
95 24/4/2006 The leader of the subcommittee hiders the process of registration, and registered her self twice in the same center (g) with different numbers records (1) and (127).
228 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
95 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
97 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
99 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
102 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
105 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
106 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
107 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
113 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
119 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
121 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
168 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
192 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
197 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
204 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
205 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
215 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
287 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of unavailable films.
109 24/4/2006 The registration process was stopped, because of (Faisal Mus’ad and Khalil Abu-hajerrah) the responsible in the ruling party.
179 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of cards.
215 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of cards.
205 24/4/2006 Only one person registered through the whole day, because of slowing in the process of the registration.
207 24/4/2006 The committee registers only at 4 o’clock and for half hour.
207 24/4/2006 The registration was stopped from the beginning till the afternoon.
215 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of cards and films.
216 24/4/2006 The subcommittee (women) has arrived for the first time at 10 o’clock am from the beginning of the process of the registration on 18/4/2006.
217 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center because of absence of the committee (women) without any reason till now.
221 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center from last Friday to Monday 23/4/2006, because of running out of cards and films.
280 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center for two consecutive days, because of running out of cards.
287 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of cards and films.
291 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of cards and films.
296 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center from the first day, because of running out of films.
298 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in the center from the first day, because of running out of films.
298 24/4/2006 Although the committee saw visited by the supervisory committee, the committee stopped its work in the center, because of running out of films.
299 أ,ب,ج,ن,ي 24/4/2006 The committee stopped its work in all centers, because of running out of cards and films.

Under age registration :

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
17 ز 24/4/2006 Under age students were registered in the center.
17 ط 24/4/2006 Under age school students were registered in the center, even-though it is outside of the center.
30 ب 24/4/2006 Registering of the under age students without ID cards, and staying a teacher and the director of the school in the committee for facilitating the process of registration.
31 أ 24/4/2006 The under age kid (Samar Shookri) was registered by the committee, under number of (1760).
31 هـ 24/4/2006 The under age kids were registered by the sub-committee from outside the area.
35 ب 24/4/2006 The following under age kids were registered :
Mohammed Abdu Khalid (2250).
Abdu Al-Azziz Hamoud Ahmed (2251).
Hammed Nabil Tahir (2252).
Taha Abdu Ahmed (2270).
Nawar Assaid Ali (2271).
Mohammed Hamoud Hassen (2236).

35 ي 24/4/2006 The following soldiers, who live in Hoban area, were recognized by the head of neighborhood :
Nassir Ali Mohammed (2521).
Mohammed Ali Sultan (2514).

35 ي،ح،ز،د 24/4/2006 Registering the following under age kids :
Malik Mohammed Abdurrahman (2496).
Saddam Abdullah Abdu Saeed (2519).
Sabbir Naji Mohammed (2322).
Fahmiah Abdullah Saif (7318).
Ra’ad Abdu Saif (1884).
Salah Ka’eed Mohammed (1885).
Fawzi Ahmed Ka’eed (1895).
Khaqlah Hamoud Mahube.

41 د 24/4/2006 The fourth level students were obligated to enroll their names in the election list.
203 ب 24/4/2006 Fifty kids were registered at the first days of the registration process and 27 of them were revealed.
203 ب 24/4/2006 Some women enroll their names several times using different names and photos.
207 أ 24/4/2006 The following under age kids were registered by the committee under the following numbers: (from 1397 to 1408), (from 1413 to 1427) and (from 1429 to 1433)
207 ك 24/4/2006 The students were threaten to be failed by the director of the school unless they register their names in the election list, even though they under ages
209 ز 24/4/2006 The committee members are threaten by sheikhs and heads of neighborhoods to be fired from their residence unless they register the underage kids.
213 د 24/4/2006 The under age kids were registered as follows:
Aesha Mohammed Saleh (1614)
Fatima Mohammed Saleh (1625)
Saleh Mohammed Saif (1629)
Maryam Ahmed Yahya Ahmed (1631)
Khadija Abdullah Al-Hakami (1630)
Monira Mohammed Saleh (1624)

215 و 24/4/2006 Registering from outside the area.
215 أ,ز,و 24/4/2006 Registering of the underage kids.
228 أ 24/4/2006 The Deputy Manager of Arhab Security has registered his name by sending his documents to the committee with a soldier, which is a clear violation of the text of the law No. (4)
298 أ 24/4/2006 Registering the underage girls.

Threat the committee & interfering in its works.

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
6 ز 24/4/2006 The leader of the subcommittee was obligated by the General People’s Conference (GPC) to resign from the committee.
17 هـ 24/4/2006 The leader of subcommittee was threaten by the Al-Qodaimi school manager (Fatima Fakir) when she refused to register the underage girls.
17 ط 24/4/2006 Bad words were said to women, the registration applicants’ by (Khalik Al-Feel) who is a member of GPC party. He interferes in the committee works; besides, he threatens and gives orders to everyone.
32 هـ 24/4/2006 The unofficial attendance of Alhamzah school manager (Hudah Alhubaishi) in the women subcommittee to introduce the underage girls, and she takes names and records’ numbers from the committee.
35 ب 24/4/2006 Interfering of the head of neighborhood in the committee’s works.

Criminal Issues.

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
216 ط 24/4/2006 The main committee has approved so-called (Sabriah Ali Abdullah Al-Matari) women sector’s leader in (GPC) instead of the leader of the subcommittee, who was approved by the Supreme Committee, Afrah Alkindi.
243 ي 24/4/2006 A soldier attacked the women committee, using his gun, because the committee refused to register his daughter which is underage, and beat one of the women voters.
110 أ 24/4/2006 Amat Al-Mujeeb Mohammed Al-Zubairi, who was practicing her role as an introducer of women, was attached and beaten by the colonel (Khalid Ahmed Al-Shaiba) the general manager of Yareem Province.

Administrative Violations :

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
31 ج 24/4/2006 The subcommittee allowed to Abdu Al-Abii, general manager of 22 Mayoo school, to enlighten him the registration list and writing down whatever names and numbers he wants.
35 ب 24/4/2006 The main center was moved again to a new place.
35 د 24/4/2006 The leader of the committee is working alone.
41 هـ 24/4/2006 The brother of the committee member Fahed Ahmed Mohamed works instead of him.
84 و 24/4/2006 The leader of a subcommittee (Ali Mohammed Saeed Jayash) was replacing (Motee Mohammed Ahmed) by the (GPC) leadership.
95 ن 24/4/2006 Layla Al-Shrabee, a committee member was substituted by Na’elah Ali Hassan who is out of the Civil Service list.
95 ل 24/4/2006 The leader of the subcommittee (Nabil Ahmed Murshid) was moved to the center (ع) and he still has the card of the center (ل).

95 ح 24/4/2006 Durrah Mohammed Assana’ani was replaced with her sister Shaima’a Mohammed Assana’ani, and the two girls are out of the Civil Service list.
95 ح Haiyat Mohammed Abdu was substituted by Ebtissam Khalid Hisam, who is out of the Civil Service list.
95 هـ The member Huda Mohammed was substituted by Afrah Al-Bukhaiti, who is out of the Civil Service list.
95 ح The member Eman Al-Mi’alamah was substituted by Entissar Al-Anesi, who is out of the Civil Service list.
95 ح The member Fahed Abdu Kaeed was substituted by Abdul-Fattah Al-Hitar, who is out of the Civil Service list.
95 ن The member Fawsiah Falahi Mohammed was substituted by Mohammed Annegar, who is out of the Civil Service list.
95 أ The member of the committee, Ali Arredaee Is absent and the committee still works with two members till today. Also, the member Nahid Ali Bahran was substituted by Nadiah Al-Mulaiki, who is out of the Civil Service list.
109 د Although, the two villages (Humrrah and Annemmar) are within the center (ج), the main committee registered them in the center (د) by order from the supervisory committee.
122 ج The member, who was affirmed by the Supreme Committee, was substituted with Ali Nassir Ali.
123 ب،ز،ط Illegal substituting of participants by forged photos as follow :
No

The member

The alternative

1

Gallal Hassen

Khalid Ali Abdullah

2

Mohmmed Ali Nassir

Ahmed Gazie Mukbil

3

Mohammed Hamid

Sabrri Saleh Saeed

4

Zaied Mukbil Saeed

His brother

5

Baligh Jibran

Adel Ali Azzamki

167 ز The two committees work under the supervision of Hassen Abdullah Asheikh the member of (GPC) and the headman in the village. The two committees are in his home, and no one can be registered except by his permission.
194 ط Women applicants of registration were departing the committee, because of the (GPC) members’ entering.
192 هـ The committee works with only two members.
195 هـ The member Salwah Al-Gammal was substituted by Na’eemah Assarrari, who was also substituted by Sammah Al-Khabji in clear violation of the text of the law.
205 ل The committee moves from a village to another within the center.
207 ج The main committee has given its oral commands to the subcommittee to move the women committee between the villages and registering all women and the underage kids without making sure of registration procedures.
207 و The main place of the committee was changed into a village within the center.
213 ب An observer was not allowed to enter into the committee, although he has a permission.
215 ط The subcommittee was moved from its main place to another place.
216 ط The leader and members of the women committee were substituted by members of the (GPC) by order of the original committee.
221 ص The women committee has been moved to the home of the deputy of Sana’a Governor Abdul Ghanni Dawood, and worked till midnight.
228 ك The subcommittee has changed the name of the province of (Eial Suhaim) to (Eial Adbullah) alleging that the registration list did not contain (Eial Suhaim) and this may confuse citizens.

A report issued by the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP). Issue No. (9).

Dealing with the observers :

Constituency No. Center Date The Violation
9 ط 27/4/2006 The local observer Intissar Attairi has been prevented from entering into the committee, for practicing her works as an observer, by the leader of the main committee Adel Alhababi.
11 أ 29/4/2006 A woman observer of Free Press was threaten and fired from the committee.

Not to even mention whats going on with the army, we have from al-Sahwa:

30/4/2006 GPC forges voter records, NGOs cry foul

Sahwa net- Leaders of President Saleh’s General People’s Congress (GPC)
have recently reportedly indulged in widespread violations of the
constitution and election law through forging voter records and
assaulting
monitors , drawing wide condemnation from Non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) .The move, many described as “bullying act”, was apparently aimed at making the presidential polls slated for next December emerge in favor of the ruling party.
In Ibb province, officials associated with the GPC terrorized Thikra
Al-Falahi, an observer working for Maad organization for Justice and
democracy.
Al-Falahi said, in a complaint lodged to the SCER, that Fuad Dahan,
office director of the governorate secretary general, threatened to batter her
and imprison her husband should she fail to leave the registration center.
On Thursday, Jibla district security manager and chairman of the
security committee followed Dahan’s suit, as he summoned Falahi’s septuagenarian father to the committee premises, and asked him to send his daughter if he is to avoid imprisonment. Home The elderly man then unwillingly met the security official’s demand, and Falahi said that women registration committee members threatened to report
her to the Political Security Organization (PSO) if she didn’t quit.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Al-Shawush, Chairman of Maad, strongly deprecated
the mistreatment meted out to Falahi by the GPC officials, calling it
“blatant contravention of the electoral law”.
In a press statement to Al-Sahwa net, Shawush underlined the observers
were legally fulfilling the tasks assigned to them, as, he said, they were
issued identity cards by the SCER.
He called on the concerned authorities to take punitive measures
against the culprits before it was too late.
Elsewhere in Ibb, a GPC female leader reportedly assaulted and forced
Shafa Sa’eed, an independent monitor, out of the committee headquarters for
allegedly revealing the registration committee’s secrets, as other
ruling party officials coerced female registration workers at constituency 83
to register minor girls.
In Aden, several NGOs monitors said they were denied access to voter
registration data.
The SCER violations have recently gained momentum, especially as the
close of the registration process was rapidly drawing nearer.

from ADNKI:

Mosques around Yemen have collected more than 72 billion rials (more than 3 million euros) to finance the election campaign of the country’s main Islamic party, Al-Islah. The money comes from donations made over the last six years by Muslims attending Friday prayers in Yemen’s more than 50,000 mosques. According to the Arabic online daily Elaph, Al-Islah party will use it to finance its future election campaigns.

The governing General People’s Congress party and Al-Islah have been Yemen’s main political parties since a civil war in 1994.

Since its expulsion from government in 1997, Al-Islah has played the role of a moderate opposition force, but the party decided to support the country’s current president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 1999 elections. Saleh announced last year that he does not intend to run for another term as president.

The next presidential elections in Yemen are scheduled for September

It would be nice if there was a JMP presidential candidate for the election in September.

Thats an interesting proposal, women only competition for certain constituencies:

from News Yemen:

The deputy secretary general of the GPC for political affairs demanded that certain jurisdictions be set aside for women in the upcoming local and parliamentary elections. He expressed his parties commitment to close certain precincts for competition between the women candidates according to the agreement by all political parties.
In a meeting held by the council for women’s incorporation in politics (GPC, Islah, YSP, and Nasserite parties) which is overseen by the Institute for National Democracy, Abdul Rahman renewed his party’s support for women and announced the decision of the general body to appropriate %15 of seats to women.
The leadership called for an open discussion for women’s support and signed an agreement to make it binding.
The women’s council has held meetings with the parties to discuss how to strengthen their presence in the coming elections.

Quite an interesting seven page article in the US News and World Report, lots of interesting quotes, covers the big topics: poverty, corruption, lack of oppostion leadership, journalists, the tribal areas, education, traditionalism, potential state failure, democratic reforms, counter terrorism efforts and the impending election. To follow is an assortment of random quotes from the article:

This time, the assault is an exercise, but Yemen’s elite Counterterrorism Unit has successfully carried out several high-risk operations against suspected terrorists and kidnappers. Portraits of six fallen soldiers, the unit’s “martyrs,” hang on the walls of their barracks. “They are without a doubt the bravest guys I have ever worked with,” says Ed, a U.S. Army trainer on his second tour in Yemen.

These days, though, Yemen is facing its own crisis, the result of deepening poverty and a government in denial about the depth of reforms needed to survive. In the past year, the United States and the World Bank have slashed their modest aid programs to Yemen, increasingly fed up with a bureaucracy that is one of the most corrupt in the world. “Yemen is teetering on the edge of failed statehood,” warns one U.S. official. “It will either become a Somalia or get serious about transforming.” For a nation awash in guns and crisscrossed by well-worn smuggling routes, the threat is grave.

(The 17) The group was captured after U.S. intelligence passed a tip to Yemeni security forces.

“This is a country that is really in the balance,” says Thomas Krajeski, the U.S. ambassador to Yemen. “There is a risk here for failure, and there is a chance of success. It is our job to give them all the help we can, but they have to make some hard decisions now.”

Increasingly, however, Yemenis fear that the strongman who has ruled for 28 years will be unable or unwilling to make the tough reforms needed. “The Americans are happy because they found someone who will fight terrorism,” says Mutawakil. “But my fear is that we’re establishing the foundation for terrorism in the country, just as they did in Iraq.” He is particularly concerned about what he calls Saleh’s “divide and conquer” style.

Amid all this, Yemen has somehow managed to remain one of the most democratic nations in the (admittedly autocratic) Middle East–and one of the very few with a relatively free press. The government tolerates a raft of opposition parties and independent newspapers. Yemenis, for the most part, feel free to criticize the government, and even Saleh, in public.

The democratic reforms all stop short of threatening Saleh’s rule

The final straw came when her staff recorded “appalling cheating” by government officials during a by-election for a parliament seat. “This past year, the scales dropped from our eyes,” she says. “We’re tired of promises. We’re tired of good intentions. < > It comes to a point when it’s not enough to say that you held the country together as it fell down the tubes.”

“In the past, we have been lenient when it comes to accountability,” says Qirbi, the foreign minister. “Now we are making the people who are responsible accountable for any poor performance. We have overcome a major obstacle, which is admitting that there are deficits.”

“We have maybe the worst educational quality in the world,” says Arhabi, the minister of planning. “I have myself seen students in sixth grade, who if you ask them to pronounce the alphabet, they aren’t able to finish it. Forget about reading and writing.”

Even worse, some corruption is officially sanctioned. As many as 60,000 people are receiving at least two government salaries, often doled out officially to buy their loyalty. “Many of the double dippers are tribal sheiks or military people,” says Yahya al-Mutawakel, the vice minister of planning.

Perhaps the brightest is the Social Fund for Development, an independent government agency that helps build schools, clinics, roads, and water wells funded mostly by foreign nations. With only 150 full-time employees, the fund managed some 1,000 projects last year with an $80 million budget. The fund–and Arhabi, its director–win nearly universal praise from foreign donors for their integrity and exhaustive accounting system. The secret: highly paid employees and the ability to fire staff at will.

Underlying any discussion of reform, however, is one uncomfortable factor–nobody can picture Yemen without Saleh in charge. Even his most implacable critics fret that there is no viable alternative today

“I expect more dangerous risks in Yemen–extremism and fanaticism,” he says. “But it’s not related to religion. It comes out of the failure to satisfy life’s needs.”

For many, the upcoming local and presidential elections will be a test. And the stakes are high. “What we are afraid of is that the Yemeni people will lose hope in elections as a means of change,” Sabri says, “because this is what the traditional forces want.”

Itrs really a good article.

This one in the Yemen Times on the election commission is perfect for me. It explains the laws and the issues clearly and precisely.

The issue of selecting SCER members remains mysterious since local public opinion does not know how to select candidates for the commission race. Since 1993 elections, only the three main parties have occupied SCER posts: the ruling party, Islah and the Yemeni Socialist Party, which was ruled out in 1997 and 1999 elections. The issue still is misleading since it says the SCER is independent and neutral, while it is in fact administratively and politically controlled by the ruling party.

This one in News Yemen explains very clearly what happened in that election for the presidium of the Paliarment:

1- President Saleh continues to impose the leadership agenda on GPC members regardless how the majority in the party have voted. The sudden change did not happen because Basaleh or Mahmood campaigned over night, it happened because the presidency wanted it to change.
2- If real democratic procedures become the norm within the GPC, its members are capable of bringing good people to the frontline. GPC has some responsible and clean people.
3- 44 MPs of the ruling party who had voted for Sakher in the party exercise changed their position and voted for the other two. It makes me wonder, why have they changed and can we trust them again?
4- What happened was a disgrace and a blow to the government claims about reforms and change. Government is not serious about reform and the need to change; in spite of its media covering pages and pages of papers with big headlines “Change is the title of the Era” in Al-Thawra – Feb 12th, 2006. “Change” 26 September same day and so on… if the government really believes in the value change brings, it would not have let a golden opportunity (the parliamentary presidium) slip out of its hand.
5- To reform, you need to identify qualified, moderate and reform minded individuals within the system and outside it and promote them to do the restoration job. What happens in Yemen is the contradictory to this simple equation. The leadership finds qualified and reform minded people, but instead of promoting them it crushes them and ensures they are in no place to impact their “evil, culturally insensitive western reforms” on the process….

PS. Islah and YSP are not better off. The two main oppositions did not even run anyone and they remained a by watcher (as usual) and later will continue to balm the party with the majority for all our misfortune. They would have looked better and will have a good argument to justify the future challenges if they had run for the deputies’ seats and lost. It is not by watching you would convince people you are doing something.

This is another one from the Yemen Times on the same subject: However, dealing with them as employees makes them only a herd without enthusiasm for the ruler, his party and regime. What kind of democracy or peaceful transfer of power are we talking about if the President never accepts any decision from his party bloc? Good point.

Maybe its a terminology thing, but actually its not an election if there’s only one candidate, even if there is some voting involved. It’s an appointment.

Also if al-Ahmar is supporting Saleh for president, then al-Ahmar is in the wrong party. The function of an opposition party is to oppose.

YT:
Under-the-table divisions over the election method have leaked out. Al-Ahmar insisted he would not run in the election ( for speaker of the Paliament) unless he was the only nominee, as he preferred to be chosen by Parliament uncontested. GPC sources said regulations stipulate the nominee’s presence. The GPC parliamentary bloc is expected to meet by the end of this week to inform its members of the decision to re-elect Al-Ahmar. However, the posts of deputies and committee heads were not determined.

Indications point to the split over parliamentary posts as an extension of conflicts between influential GPC members who experienced severe strife over the General Secretary’s post at their seventh conference last month in Aden. Prominent personalities lost their Central Committee positions, including Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi and Al-Ahmar’s son, Hussein. Hussein’s loss was considered a message to Al-Ahmar, whose differences with the president have become public in the past few months.

The GPC announcement to nominate Al-Ahmar followed a meeting of the two men in Aden during the Eid holiday. After this meeting, Al-Ahmar declared his support of President Saleh’s candidacy in September’s elections.

Despite the fact that Al-Ahmar heads the Islah party, he has been an important ally of the president since coming to power in North Yemen in 1978. Despite soured relations in the past six years over U.S. relations, the War on Terror and differing stances on Islah after it became an opposition party, the two men remain important allies.

This is the same GPC packed Commission that the Islah party recently brought a lawsuit against for kicking off opposition party representatives. The court refused to hear the case. And the commission is now claiming a lack of responsibility for underage voting and blaming the parties. YT/NY:

The Yemeni Supreme Commission for Elections and Referenda admitted yesterday that underage voters, including boys as young as seven years old, had been registered and voted in the 2003 parliamentary elections.

The commission however refused to shoulder responsibility for this action and said all parties are partners in the process and should share the blame.

The head of the foreign sectors’ departments of SCER Alawi Al-Mash-hoor said political parties were the ones that encouraged the registration of underage voters. “There were many reports filed to us about violations committed by political parties. It is their process and hence it is not our right to omit any part of the law to prevent them from running the show.” he said….Civil society organizations are still unsure whether proper mechanisms are being established to prevent future fraud and underage voting in next elections, particularly in remote areas that are very difficult to monitor by local or international observers.

This is an interesting and somewhat depressing assessment. Its rather long so the whole thing is here, to follow is just an excerpt that caught my eye:

According to one western diplomat based in Yemen, Western nations – including the US – believe he (Saleh) continues to be the best candidate for the presidency, due to his long experience and ability to appeal to Yemen’s multifarious ethnic and social groups.

Yes long experience (27 years) for sure. He appeals to the various groups by targeting some and rewarding others.

The election is in eight months and there is no opposition candidate inside Yemen. I understand full well the GPC packed parliament has to approve the opposition candidate, the Election Commission is a tool that hinders representation, the court rejected the Islah lawsuit to make the election commission more fair, the GPC controls the money, the media and the military, and the political system is devolving into a one party state, but still, no candidate?

Some quotes from the Yemeni papers with links

Buying good media coverage, not an unusual occurance:

As for chairman of the board of directors of the Watani Bank Dr Ahmed Al-Hamdani, and according to media sources, has allocated around YR one million for journalists who would stand by him against dealing with the attack on him, saying it was targeted against him from among the other banks operating in the country.

Why the Houthis?

Politicians differed in their explanations of the reasons that led the authorities to uproot the activities of Al-Houthi followers. Some say that the reasons are political; others describe them as ethnical while the third group relates the authorities’ attempt to exterminate Al-Houthi as a response to U.S. and Israeli demands. Majority of politicians, however, believe that Saudis, through their strong influence in Yemen, have a hand in plans for eliminating the Shiite movement of Al-Houthi, which according to their belief, limits the expansion of the Wahabi movement in Yemeni territory.

Why the kidnapping?

The kidnappers told the mediators that ‘they resorted to kidnapping because they failed to convince the security authorities to release their relatives and refer them to judiciary”….Security authorities claim the three detainees have been accused of fighting the US-led coalition in the Iraqi territories. They also accuse them of having connection with one of the organizations facilitating the transportation of Yemeni fighters to Iraq.

Agriculture:, a main stay of the economy.

They said they aimed at achieving a high rate of productivity this season but insecticides spread in their farms destroyed the crops. A vast area was destroyed because of these bad insecticides making the 2005 product less than the planed rate by far….Consequent to their deteriorating conditions, many farmers were compelled to abandon their farms.

Women agricultrual workers:

The study, published by the Labor Market Information System (LMIS) program, added that the majority of working women are concentrated in the agricultural sector as unpaid family workers. It is estimated that approximately 61.9% of women workers in Yemen are unpaid.

Business:

The report pointed out that Yemen had captured the highest figure in the cost of building a legal entity for businesses. While in Kuwait it is 24% of the average income of the individual, it reaches at 269.2% of the average of income of the individual in Yemen.

Criminal enterprises: of the powerful negatively impact society.

Considering the strategic location of Yemen, drugs are usually shipped from Southeast Asia through the Gulf of Aden and other coasts around the country. From there, it is shipped to numerous gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and other countries in the region. Not surprisingly, many of these illegal drugs are left behind and used in Yemen. New markets for these drugs have been created in places like Aden, Hodieda, and other cities across the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf shores.

Traffic police:

Traffic police only get paid the equivalent of $5 for a day’s work, which is the reason for this widespread problem….A traffic police officer who preferred to remain anonymous said, “People don’t understand that we are living through this dark age as well. With salaries like the equivalent of $150 monthly, we can’t even guarantee ourselves a future.” It is hard to imagine who is right when you hear the story from both sides. Citizens complain of traffic police oppression, while traffic police complain of government oppression.

Yet Another Journalist Targeted:

“They called me an al-Houthi associate and accused me of acting against the regime and the state, which is the same accusation used by security officials in the area against any citizen rejecting their brutal and illegal actions,” he said. He added, “other calls were made by those officials to my relatives asking about my home in Sanaa and where I go.”

He said he fears retaliation by the police, who could attack his family living in the Al-Shahil district because of what he has written in the report.

The cultural heritage:

I think the governmental sector failed in protecting antiquities. It is very difficult to convince the authorities with the importance of antiquities and to make them realize what antiquities are….Confronted with a question about the security of archeological sites many of which are believed to have been left to looters and robbers, Prof. Yosuf replied that this is the duty of the locals themselves and the local government.

GCC:

Other political analysts described the summit results as below expectations, some going so far as to say that even the pro-Yemen GCC attitudes were below what the people of the Gulf states aspire to. Other analysts believe that any steps taken by the GCC countries are useful to Yemen and should be welcomed. Nasserite leader Mohammed Al-Sabri believed Yemen required further reforms in all sectors to avoid lagging behind the Gulf states.

the petition for Saleh to honor his pledge to step down, in response to GPC announcement of a petition drive for him to run again.

The Arab News in Saudi Arabia titles the article: Pro-Democracy Activists Call on Saleh to Step Down. The article notes: In 1999, he was elected for a seven-year tenure in country’s first universal suffrage presidential vote with a 96 percent margin. His term ends next year, but the constitution allows him one more term in office.