1997 Yemeni parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Yemen on 27 April 1997. The governing General People's Congress of President Ali Abdullah Saleh won a landslide victory, taking 187 of the 301 seats, although several opposition parties including the Yemeni Socialist Party boycotted the election alleging that the government had harassed and arrested their party workers.[1] The main opposition party, al-Islah, attacked the government for not carrying out economic reforms and for corruption.[2] Voter turnout was 61.0%.[3]

1997 Yemeni parliamentary election
27 April 1997
Party Leader % Seats ±
GPC Ali Abdullah Saleh 43.1% 187 +64
Al-Islah Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar 23.4% 53 -9
NUPO Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi 2.3% 3 +2
Ba'ath Party 0.7% 2 -5
Independent – 29.5% 54 +7
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Yemen
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Campaign

Of the 16 million people in Yemen about 4.6 million were registered to vote with about a quarter of them being women. However, only about 2.6 million people received their voting cards.[1]

Over 2,300 candidates, from 12 parties, competed for the 301 seats in the House of Representatives. Most candidates were independents, however many of these were backed by either the General People's Congress or al-Islah parties. There were 19 female candidates.[2] Each party or independent candidate had their own logo such as an owl or horse for the ballot paper to help illiterate voters.[4] There were few disagreements over policy between the parties.[4]

Results
Party Votes % Seats +/–
General People's Congress1,175,34343.1187+64
Al-Islah637,72823.453–9
Nasserist Unionist People's Organisation55,4382.33+2
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party20,4090.72–5
National Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party10,1340.40New
Democratic Nasserist Party9,6010.40–1
Party of Truth5,5870.20–2
Nasserist Reform Organisation2,7550.100
League of Sons of Yemen9300.000
Other parties3,4000.100
Independents805,63629.554+7
Vacant––2–
Invalid/blank votes100,408–––
Total2,827,3691003010
Registered voters/turnout4,637,70061.0––
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

In two districts, Hajjah and Dhamar the results were cancelled due to irregularities.[5] International monitors described the elections as being 'reasonably free and fair' and 'a positive step in the democratic development of Yemen'.[6]

After the elections, 39 MPs elected as independents joined the GPC, 10 joined Al-Islah and two joined the Yemeni Socialist Party.[7]

References
  1. "Yemen's ruling party proclaims victory amid claims of fraud". The Indian Express. 1997-05-02. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  2. "Yemen Holds Vote; First Since '94 Strife". The New York Times. 1997-04-28. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  3. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p304 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
  4. "Doves and eagles fight for votes: Yemen prepares for elections". The Guardian. 1997-04-24. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  5. "Yemen Leader's Party Dominates Elections". The New York Times. 1997-05-08. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  6. "Peek behind screen of Yemen's paranoid poll". The Guardian. 1997-05-03. Archived from the original on 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  7. "State of the parties, 1997 election". Yemen gateway. Archived from the original on 2007-06-16. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
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