INDCJournal: Elections in Yemen

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September 14, 2006

Elections in Yemen

Posted by Bill

"Silent revolution in Arabia: Yemen's president hard-pressed:"

The cliche goes that the Arab world is at its most modern in Lebanon and at its most backward in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world. While it is true that tribal ties are more important in Yemen than ideologies, it is also true that the poor house of the Arabian peninsula - where men still wear traditional wraparound robes and women hide their faces behind black veils - is experiencing an electoral campaign that is more democratic than in other Arab states in the past year.
On September 20, Yemenis are due to elect new local councils and decide whether President Ali Abdullah Saleh should step down after 28 years at the helm of the region the Romans called Arabia Felix, or Happy Arabia.

Unlike the presidential campaigns in Egypt and Tunisia, where it was clear from the start that no opposition candidate had a chance against the incumbents, the fight for the top spot in Sana'a is proving to be gripping.

A notable bit of detail:

Five of the larger opposition left-wing and Islamist parties have agreed on a joint presidential candidate and manifesto.

Limited engagement of Islamists in a governing coalition marks a test case for the second scenario discussed in my summation of Zakaria's prescription for democratic reforms in the Arab world. Let them deal with coalitions and voter appeasement for a while - without total authority - and we'll see if the process influences them more than they influence the process. Keep an eye on Yemen.

(Via Jane, the 'sphere's resident expert on all things Yemeni)

Posted by Bill at September 14, 2006 11:11 AM | TrackBack (0)

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Comments

Thank Bill, here's my article at Tech Central Station that gives a bit of historical background if your readers are interested.

But ya' know, I think the opposition has a fighting chance of winning, which would be historic.

Posted by: Jane at September 14, 2006 03:14 PM

You know, I think I missed the first few memos... How is it that a ruler of 28 years has all of a sudden allowed elections?
Guess I need to look into this.

Posted by: Babs at September 15, 2006 10:16 PM