General People's Congress المؤتمر الشعبي العام | |
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| Chairperson(disputed) | Rashad al-Alimi (pro-Hadi/Alimi faction)[1][2] Sadeq Amin Abu Rass (pro-Houthi faction)[3][1] Ahmed Saleh (pro-Ahmed Saleh faction)[1] |
| Spokesperson | Abdo al-Janadi |
| Founder | Ali Abdullah Saleh |
| Founded | 24 August 1982 (43 years, 87 days) |
| Headquarters | Sanaa |
| Newspaper | Al-Motamar |
| Ideology | Yemeninationalism Arab nationalism Pan-Arabism Economic liberalism Neoliberalism[4] Big tent[5] |
| Political position | Centre[6] |
| House of Representatives | 170 / 301 |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
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| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Yemen |
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TheGeneral People's Congress (GPC;Arabic:المؤتمر الشعبي العام) is apolitical party inYemen. It has been thede jure ruling party of Yemen since 1993, three years afterunification. The party is dominated by anationalist line, and its official ideology isArab nationalism, seekingArab unity.
In the course of theYemeni Civil War, the party's founder and LeaderAli Abdullah Saleh was killed, while the GPC fractured into three factions backing different sides in the conflict.[7]
The party was established on 24 August 1982 inSana'a,North Yemen, by PresidentAli Abdullah Saleh,[7][8] becoming anumbrella organisation that sought to represent all political interests.[9] FollowingYemeni unification in 1990, and with Saleh continuing as president of the united country, it emerged as the largest party in the1993 parliamentary elections, winning 123 of the 301 seats.[8] It went on to win a majority (187) of seats in the1997 elections amidst a boycott by theYemeni Socialist Party.
Saleh was re-elected as president in the first directpresidential elections in 1999, and the party won a landslide victory in the2003 parliamentary elections, winning 226 of the 301 seats. Following the elections, several independent MPs also joined the party. Saleh was re-elected again in2006. On 25 February 2012, he resigned from the presidency as a result of theYemeni protests (2011-2012), andAbdrabbuh Mansur Hadi of the same party waselected as his successor. Saleh attempted to regain power over the country and the GPC Party in the following2014 civil war. Rallying a large part of the GPC in 2015, he sided with theHouthis and effectively split the party into a pro-Hadi and a pro-Saleh faction.[7]
The two factions were at war with each other until Saleh attempted to overthrow the Houthis. This power grab failed, however, and the former president as well as party secretary general Aref al-Zouka were killed in theBattle of Sana'a of late 2017. Following Ali Abdullah Saleh's death, the GPC fractured further, with a large part of the former Saleh followers pledging allegiance to the Houthis. This pro-Houthi part of the GPC continued to support the rebel government in Sana'a, and electedSadeq Ameen Abu Rass as the new GPC chairman. One member of the pro-Houthi faction explained that "Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed by the Houthis. If we follow his direction and resist the Houthis, we will meet the same end as Saleh. So we prefer to support the strongest force on the ground."[7]
Another group of Saleh loyalists fled from the Houthis. Though this GPC faction then allied itself with Hadi and theSaudi Arabia-led international coalition, it still remained completely separate and chose Ali Abdullah Saleh's sonAhmed Saleh as newde facto leader. Meanwhile, the former president's nephewTareq Saleh began to organize a newprivate army for this GPC faction.[7]
| Election | Party candidate | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Ali Abdullah Saleh | 3,584,399 | 96.2% | Elected Y |
| 2006 | 4,149,673 | 77.2% | ElectedY | |
| 2012 | Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi | 6,621,921 | 100.0% | ElectedY |
| Election | Party leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Ali Abdullah Saleh | 640,523 | 28.7% | 123 / 301 |  123 | 1st | Minority government |
| 1997 | 1,175,343 | 43.1% | 187 / 301 | 64 |  1st | Majority government | |
| 2003 | 3,429,888 | 58.0% | 226 / 301 | 39 | 1st | Supermajority government |
