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Elections inYemen take place within the framework of apresidential system, with both thePresident andHouse of Representatives elected by the public. Due to political instability, elections have not been held regularly since the early 2000s.
Following theNorth Yemen Civil War and the establishment of theYemen Arab Republic, a new constitution came into force in 1970 and the firstparliamentary elections were held in 1971.[1] However, as political parties were banned, all candidates ran as independents. Political instability meant that thenext elections did not take place until 1988. The 1988 elections were also held on a non-party basis, although around 30 candidates sympathetic to theMuslim Brotherhood were elected.[2]
During the British colonial era, elections were held for a Legislative Council in theColony of Aden. The first took place in1955, although only four of the 18 seats were suffrage was restricted.[3] Thenext elections in 1959 saw 12 of the 23 seats elected, although continued restrictions on suffrage led to only 21,500 people being registered to vote from a population of 180,000.[3] The final elections of the British era were held in1964, having been postponed from 1962.
After independence and the establishment of thePeople's Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1967, thefirst parliamentary elections took place in 1978, by which time the country was aone-party state. TheYemeni Socialist Party (YSP) won all 111 seats. Thenext elections were scheduled for 1983, but postponed until 1986. The YSP remained the sole legal party, butindependents were allowed to run, winning 40 of the 111 seats.
Followingunification in 1990, a 301-seat House of Representatives was established.Parliamentary elections were held in 1993, which saw theGeneral People's Congress (GPC) based in the north win 123 of the 301 seats, whilstal-Islah won 62 and the YSP 56. The YSP subsequently boycotted the1997 parliamentary elections, in which the GPC won a majority of seats.
Thefirst direct presidential elections were held in 1999. Candidates could only advance to the public vote if they received over 30 votes in the House of Representatives. With only the GPC and al-Islah holding enough seats to nominate a candidate, and al-Islah backing incumbent PresidentAli Abdullah Saleh, the only other candidate to receive enough votes was the GPC'sNajeeb Qahtan Al-Sha'abi. Saleh subsequently won the public ballot with 96.2% of the vote. Thenext parliamentary elections in 2003 saw the YSP return to electoral contests. However, they won only eight seats as the GPC increased their parliamentary majority, winning 226 of the 301 seats.
The2006 presidential elections saw Saleh re-elected with 77% of the vote, defeatingFaisal Bin Shamlan, the candidate of the Joint Meeting Parties, an alliance of the five main opposition parties. Theparliamentary elections scheduled for 2009 were repeatedly postponed. However, following theYemeni revolution, Saleh stood down andpresidential elections were held in 2012. Saleh's Vice PresidentAbd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi was the only candidate to run, and was elected unopposed.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi | General People's Congress | 6,621,921 | 100.00 | |
| Total | 6,621,921 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 6,621,921 | 99.80 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 13,271 | 0.20 | ||
| Total votes | 6,635,192 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 10,243,364 | 64.78 | ||
| Source:IFES | ||||
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| General People's Congress | 3,465,117 | 57.79 | 229 | +42 | |
| Al-Islah | 1,349,485 | 22.51 | 45 | –8 | |
| Yemeni Socialist Party | 291,541 | 4.86 | 7 | New | |
| Nasserist Unionist People's Organisation | 109,714 | 1.83 | 3 | 0 | |
| Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party | 40,872 | 0.68 | 2 | 0 | |
| General People's Congress–Al-Islah | 25,352 | 0.42 | 1 | New | |
| National Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party | 23,745 | 0.40 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nasserist Reform Organisation | 15,257 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | |
| Union of Popular Forces | 11,967 | 0.20 | 0 | – | |
| Democratic Nasserist Party | 9,829 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 | |
| National Democratic Front | 7,056 | 0.12 | 0 | – | |
| Social Nationalist Party – Yemen | 5,349 | 0.09 | 0 | – | |
| Party of Truth | 4,585 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | |
| People's Democratic Party | 4,077 | 0.07 | 0 | – | |
| Democratic Union of Popular Forces | 3,003 | 0.05 | 0 | – | |
| Social Green Party | 2,276 | 0.04 | 0 | – | |
| Popular Unity Party | 1,739 | 0.03 | 0 | – | |
| Yemeni League Party | 1,383 | 0.02 | 0 | – | |
| Liberation Front Party | 1,282 | 0.02 | 0 | – | |
| Popular Unionist Liberation Party | 1,241 | 0.02 | 0 | – | |
| Yemeni Unionist Gathering | 483 | 0.01 | 0 | – | |
| Democratic September Organization | 81 | 0.00 | 0 | – | |
| Independents | 620,615 | 10.35 | 14 | –40 | |
| Total | 5,996,049 | 100.00 | 301 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 5,996,049 | 96.69 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 205,205 | 3.31 | |||
| Total votes | 6,201,254 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,097,514 | 76.58 | |||
| Source:Yemen NIC | |||||
The president is elected for a seven-year term in a two-stage process, with the House of Representatives required to endorse at least two candidates, who are then put to a public vote.[4] The 301 members of the House of Representatives are elected for a six-year term in single-member constituencies using thefirst-past-the-post system.[5]
The voting age is 18, whilst candidates for the House of Representatives must be at least 25.[5]
Following unification in 1990, areferendum was held on a new constitution in 1991, which was approved by 98.5% of voters. Anotherconstitutional referendum in 2001 saw 77% of voters approve changes to the constitution.
| Presidential elections | |
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| Parliamentary elections | |
| Pre-unification elections | |
| Referendums | |
