The presidential candidates

OF THE ORIGINAL 31 nominees, the presidential vetting committee put  forward 24 names for consideration by the full parliament. Only two of these achieved the required 10% support from MPs and 20 attracted no votes at all. The two approved candidates were:

ALI ABDULLAH SALIH, the current President of Yemen. He agreed to stand as the candidate for the General People's Congress (GPC), having earlier offered to step down. His apparent reluctance was seen by many observers as a ploy to secure nomination by "popular demand". The main parliamentary opposition party, Islah, will not be fielding its own candidate and has already declared its support for Salih. With the combined support of the GPC and Islah, Salih is certain to win.

CV and election programme of Ali Abdullah Salih
Yemen Times, 20-9-99

Biographical notes

 

NAJIB QAHTAN AL-SHA'BI, aged 46, eldest son of Qahtan Muhammad al-Sha'bi, who was the first president of southern Yemen after independence. Mr Sha'bi is a Member of Parliament and, like President Salih, belongs to the GPC - though news reports say he is standing as an independent.

CV and election programme of Najib Qahtan Al-Shaabi
Yemen Times, 20-9-99

The most prominent among the ousted nominees was Ali Salih 'Ubad Muqbil, Secretary-General of the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), which ruled south before unification. A veteran politician from Abyan, he took over leadership of the party in 1994 after Ali Salim al-Baid and others in the party hierarchy fled following their unsuccessful attempt to establish a separate state in the south. He was nominated by the parties of the Supreme Co-ordination Council for the Opposition (which includes the YSP).