PART ONE: NAMES,
DEFINITIONS AND VOTING RIGHTS
CHAPTER ONE: NAMES AND
DEFINITIONS
Article 1: This law shall be
called the General Elections law.
Article 2: For the purpose of this law, the
following words and expressions shall have the following meaning unless the context
requires otherwise.
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Republic: the Republic of Yemen.
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Citizen: all Yemeni national, males and females,
entitled to vote according to the provisions of this law.
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Voting Domicile: the usual place of residence of
person or the place where this person has his main business or the place of residence of
his family even if said person does not live in such a place.
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Supreme Committee(s): the Supreme Elections
Committee formed according to the provisions of this law in order to prepare, supervise
and organise the general elections.
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Voters' Registers' Committee: the main Committee and
the branch Committees in charge of establishing the registers containing the names and
particulars of voters and reviewing and making copies of same. It exercises its duties in
accordance with the provisions of this law.
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Election Committee(s): the main Committee and branch
Committees which are responsible for administering the elections starting with the
candidacy applications and the control of the votes. It exercises its duties in accordance
with the provisions of this law.
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Supervisory Committee(s): the area which is part of
the election districts of the Republic and where the citizens exercise their electoral
rights according to the provisions of the Constitution on the entire territory of Yemen.
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General Elections: the direct means for the
expression of people's right to designate its representatives on parliaments (the
legislative council) and to the local councils.
CHAPTER TWO: VOTING RIGHTS
Article 3: All Citizens who have attained 18
complete calendar years are entitled to vote except naturalised persons who have not
completed the legal period of time provided for in the Nationality Law since acquiring
Yemeni citizenship.
Article 4: All voters exercise their voting rights
in the election district in which they domicile and if a person has more than one
domicile, he shall chose the domicile where he wishes to vote. in any event, one person
cannot be registered in more than one Electoral District in which he is registered.
Article 5: The Supreme Committee shall take all
appropriate measures to encourage women to exercise their voting rights and shall set up
women's committees which shall be entrusted with registering the names of female voters in
the voting registers and verify their identity during the voting process at the polling
stations which shall be determined in each of the Electoral Districts.
Article 6: Each voter has one voter and voters are
not entitled to vote more than one during the same elections.
PART TWO: VOTERS'
REGISTERS
Article 7: Each Electoral
District contains a permanent voters register established by the main Committee and the
branch Committees to be formed. The area of jurisdiction and offices of each such
Committee shall be determined by the Supreme Committee and the said Committees shall
exercise their duties in accordance with the provisions of this law and the decisions and
instructions taken in pursuance thereof. The branch Committees shall submit to the main
Committee the register which they would have established in order to insert such registers
in the voters registers after they have been signed by the president and the members of
the Committee.
Article 8: The voters
registers in each Electoral District shall mention the name of all citizens of such
Electoral District who, on January 1 of each year, would have met the constitutional
conditions required to be entitled to exercise their voting rights, and shall list their
surname, profession, date of birth, and voting domicile. Voters may not be registered in
more than one Electoral District.
Article 9: The Committees shall establish the
registers in order to verify the age of each Citizen applying for the registration of his
name in the voters register and to ensure by the appropriate means that he has attained
the legal age.
Article 10: The voters register shall be made in
five copies signed by the president of the main Committee and both members of such
Committee. One copy shall be kept at the Committee's seat in the Electoral District which
shall be determined by the Supreme Committee, another copy shall be kept with the
secretariat. The fourth copy shall be kept with the High Court and the fifth copy with the
Supervisory Committee of the province.
Article 11:
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Any review, writing or amendment of the voters' registers
shall in general be done in January of each year. Two months prior to the date of the
decision calling the voters to vote, the registers shall be reviewed to include the names
of Citizens who would have met the legal requirements to vote. In any event, no amendment
shall be effected after the decision calling the voters is issued.
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The yearly review must comprise the following:
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adding the names of those persons who have become entitled
according to the law to exercise their voting rights.
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adding the names of those persons who wrongfully omitted
from the previous registers.
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deleting the names of the deceased.
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deleting the names of those who have lost their right to
vote since the latest review and those whose names have been wrongfully inserted,
mentioning the reason for the deletion.
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deleting those who have moved from the electoral district
and adding those who have moved into the Electoral District.
Article 12: Official copies of the voting registers
for each Electoral District stamped by the president of the main Committee shall be posted
from February 1 till February 15 in public squares and places within the limits of the
Electoral District and at the provincial directorate offices, and in all places determined
by the Supreme Committee.
Article 13: Each Citizen domiciled in the Electoral
District is entitled to have the Committee insert his name in the voters register thereof
if he has been wrongfully omitted or deleted and each voter registered in the voters
register is entitled to require the insertion of a name which has been wrongly omitted or
the deletion of a mane which has been wrongfully inserted. Application shall be presented
to the offices of the committee from February 1 to February 20 and shall be recorded
against a receipt in a special register according to the dates of their filling. All
voters are entitled to examine such registers.
Article 14: The insertion and deletion applications
mentioned in the previous article are decided upon by March 15 at the latest by the
committee which has established the register. The committee may listens to the applicant
and the person concerned by the application and to undertake all investigation and
enquiries that it deems appropriate.
Article 15: The decision of the committee in charge
of establishing the voters registers are posted in the places mentioned in Article 12
hereof from March 16 to March 20.
Article 16:
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Any citizen from the Electoral District is entitled to
challenge the decisions of the committee in charge of establishing and reviewing the
registers before the court of the first instance having jurisdiction by or on April 15 at
the latest and the said court may undertake any investigations and inquiries that it deems
appropriate in order to decide whether the registers should be amended by insertions or
deletions or not.
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All Citizens as well as the representatives of the Public
Prosecutor's Office in the Electoral District are entitled to appeal the decisions of the
court of first instance in a request submitted tot he judges appointed by the president of
the Court of Appeal of the province. If the need arises, several judges shall be appointed
to look into the appeals in the various Electoral Districts and their decisions in this
respect shall be final and shall be rendered by the end of May.
Article 17: The voters registers shall be amended
according to the final decisions rendered in conformity with the above relevant articles.
Article 18:
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Each Citizen whose name is registered in the voters
registers shall be given a temporary certificate in this respect. Such a certificate shall
be replaced by the voter registration card once his registration becomes final. Such
registration card shall bear the voter's picture, his four names, his date of birth,
voting domicile and the number and date of his registration, his Electoral District
concerned.
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The voter's registration card is a personal card and may
not be used by any other than its holder during the whole voting process, and is
considered valid for the exercise of the voting rights during the period of time
determined by the Supreme Committee on the card itself, as long as such conditions are not
changed or replaced for legal reasons.
Article 19: The final voters' registers are deemed
to be unquestionable during the elections and no person is entitled to vote if his name is
not mentioned in such registers.
PART THREE: THE
SUPREME ELECTIONS COMMITTEE AND ITS DUTIES
Article 20: The election
Supreme Committee is composed of five members at least and seven members at most appointed
by virtue of a decision form the Presidential Council from a list of 15 names proposed by
parliament and who must meet the conditions laid down by this law. the Presidential
Council may appoint additional members to the Committee during the election year from
among the list of candidates mentioned above in order to assist the Committee during the
election process.
Article 21: The term of the
Committee's members is four years. The formalities for the formation of the Committee
shall start three months prior to such term. Members can be re-appointed for one term
only.
Article 22: The members of the Supreme Elections
Committee should fulfil the following conditions:
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They must have attained 35 years of age.
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Both their father and mother must be Yemeni nationals.
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They must be experienced and qualified.
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They must be of good morals and conduct.
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They must not have been sentenced by a court judgment for
any election offence or any offence against honour or in breach of trust.
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If the Committee's member is adherent to a political party
or organisation, he must publicly resign from such party or organisation during the term
of his membership in the Committee.
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The Committee's members must not be candidates during the
term of their membership in the Committee.
Article 23:
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The Supreme Committee's members must have the rank of
Minister at least. Member not having this rank prior to their appointment shall be granted
such rank.
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The Supreme Committee's members may only be removed by a
decision from the presidential Council on the basis of a final court judgement, and in
case of death, resignation or removal, a new member shall be appointed for the rest of his
predecessor's term from any of the names mentioned in the list established by Parliament
at the time of formation of the Committee.
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The Committee's members shall appoint a president and a
vice president from among themselves for the term of their membership.
Article 24: Before exercising their duties, the
members of the Supreme Elections Committee shall take the following oath before the
President of the Presidential Council:
I swear in the name of mighty god that I shall preserve
faithfully the republican system and respect the Constitution and the law and protect
fully the people's interest and freedoms and preserve the unity, independence and
integrity of the country and to carry out my duties at the Supreme Elections Committee
with faith, honour, and honesty without fear or bias. God be my witness.
Article 25: The election Supreme Committee is in
charge of administering, controlling, and supervising the general elections and is
entrusted with the duties defined in this law, particularly:
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appointing the president and members of the Supervisory
Committee and the main and branch Committees responsible for establishing the voters
registers, and the main and branch Committees entrusted with the administration of the
elections, and setting up such Committees at the appropriate time in the Electoral
Districts and determining the area coming under the jurisdiction of each Committee in each
Electoral District. Each committee comprises a president and two members.
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preparing the forms, registers, documents, papers, ballot
boxes and ballot papers for the electoral process and affixing its seal on the ballot
papers and organising the entire process and distributing same to the Committees at the
appropriate time.
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laying down the rules and issuing the appropriate
instructions to guarantee the security measures required to ensure that the elections are
free and safe.
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establishing the electoral guidebook and distributing same
to the voting committees.
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calling the electoral college to vote in the Electoral
districts where parliament declares a vacancy pursuant to the provisions of Article 61 of
the Constitution.
Article 26: The main, original, branch, supervisory
and security committees as well as the persons in charge of the security, the provincial
governors, the directors of all directorates and any person who is entrusted with a duty
in relation with the elections, are subject to the control of the Supreme Committee and to
its instructions regarding the elections.
Article 27: The member of the committee in charge
of establishing the voters registers, of the committee administering the elections, main,
original as well as branch committees, and the Supervisory Committee must meet the
following conditions:
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to be a Yemeni national
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to have attained 21 years of age for members and 25 years
of age for the president.
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to be able to write and read.
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to be of good morals and conduct. Members must not have
been sentenced by a final court judgement for any election offence or any offence against
the honor unless they have been rehabilitated. In any event, no person may be appointed to
the original or branch committees administering the elections in an Electoral District
where there is a family relationship up to the fourth degree between such person and one
of the candidates in the Electoral District concerned.
Article 28: The Supreme Committee shall appoint
Supervisory Committees for each province having its seat at the provincial capital to
supervise the operations of the Committees in charge of establishing the voters registers
and the Committees in charge of the administration of the elections in accordance with the
requirements of the general interest that it deems appropriate.
Article 29: The Supreme Committee shall increase
the number of registration and voting centers in large Electoral District in order to
ensure the greatest participation of the Citizens in the voting process.
Article 30: The Supreme Committee shall supervise
the operations of the Voting Committees and shall send delegates to ensure the rightful
application of the registration and voting formalities in addition to the verification of
the adequacy of the Committees offices and their legal conformity. The Supreme Committee
shall appoint additional committees, as necessary, to assist it in fulfilling its duties
and responsibilities.
Article 31: The Supreme Committee shall provide the
substance which is to be put on the voter's thumbs once they have voted, provided that
such substance remains indelible for 24 hours at least in order to prevent voters from
voting more than once during election day.
Article 32: The costs of the elections are borne by
the State and the Supreme Committee shall have a special budget. The Government shall put
at the disposal of the Supreme Committee all the means and equipment to enable it to fully
undertake its duties.
Article 33: The Supreme Committee has the juristic
personality and exercises with a complete independence all the duties, responsibilities,
and powers provided for in this law and in no case will any party be allowed to interfere
in the affairs of the Committee and its duties or to restrict its powers.
PART FOUR: THE
ORGANISATION AND
RULES OF ELECTION CANVASSING
Article 34: The rules
governing the electoral canvassing campaign are laid down by the Supreme Committee in
accordance with the provisions of this law.
Article
35: The Supreme Committee shall inform the Citizens of the importance of the election
process and encourage them to take part in it and shall organise the candidates' electoral
rolls in each Electoral District after closure of the periods for the presentation of
candidacies without giving any undue publicity to any of them, and it shall forbid all
government news regarding the elections without its approval and supervision. The
governmental new media shall put its means at the disposal of the Supreme Committee.
Candidates are not allowed to use defamatory or slanderous means against each other during
their election campaign.
Article 36: The Supreme Committee shall regulate
the use of the State audio-visual media and press their electoral platforms, and shall
ensure equal access to such media.
Article 37: Financing election campaigns with
public funds or from the budgets of Ministries, public sector organisations or companies
or public bodies or from foreign sources is prohibited. The use of public institutions and
facilities for the election campaign is also prohibited.
Article 38: The places for posting of election
bills within the limits of the Electoral District shall be designated as of the fourteenth
day prior to the elections. In each of the above places, candidates shall be granted equal
space which shall not exceed the limits set by the Supreme Committee.
Article 39: The Supreme Committee shall allocate
space mentioned in the above article according to the order of the presentation of the
candidacies. Local authorities and their assistants shall assist fully in the execution of
the Supreme Committee's instructions and requests concerning the allocation of required
space pursuant to the provisions of the above article. Failure to assist shall render such
authorities and assistants legally liable, and in such a case, the president of the
Committee or his representative shall immediately be put in charge of the execution.
Article 40: Candidates are not allowed to post, in
the space mentioned in Article 38 hereof, until the end of the day preceding voting day:
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more than two electoral posters.
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more than two notices concerning electoral meetings which
shall only contain the date and venue of the meeting and the names of the speakers
registered to give a speech and the names of the candidates.
Article 41: Candidates may not use, or allow the
use of the boards allocated to them for any purpose other than presenting their candidacy,
presenting and defending their programmes and candidates may not cede the boards allocated
to them to any other person.
Article 42: On election day candidates may not
distribute or cause someone to distribute programmes, leaflets, cards or other documents.
In general, on election day, government officials and local authorities may not distribute
cards, leaflets or programmes on the behalf of candidates. Bills, programmes, leaflets or
cards belonging to candidates who are not registered in the candidates rolls may not be
posted or circulated.
Article 43: Subject to the provisions of the
following article, Mosques, Prayer oratories, faculties, schools, institutes, government
offices, barracks, public facilities, clubs and playgrounds may not be used for the
election campaign in any sort whatsoever.
Article 44: Candidates shall, during their election
campaign, organise electoral meetings in their respective Electoral Districts for the
presentation of their electoral platform to the voters. The regulations governing such
meeting shall be laid down by the Supreme Committee, provided that Mosques and prayer
oratories are not used for electoral meetings. The Supreme Committee may, if necessary,
authorise the equal use of designated schools by all candidates for electoral meetings.
Any person acting in violation of the provisions regulating the election campaign
contained in this part shall be guilty of an election offence pursuant to the provisions
of Part Seven hereof.
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