SANA'A: Al-Haraq, the Yemeni southern secessionist movement, put its threats into action on Friday when a group of its loyalists stormed a polling station in the southern district of Almasimir, near the sea port city of Aden. The group, which resumed its political activities following a breakdown in security and the government's inability to suppress them in the midst of a popular uprising, said on countless occasions that it did not recognize Vice-President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi's legitimacy and even less so his claim to the presidency. The group is threatening to break up Yemen's unity and is demanding the creation of a federal system and the organization of a fair and representative political system. Widely supported in the southern Yemeni provinces, al-Haraq actually possesses enough manpower to seriously jeopardize the upcoming presidential elections, benefiting from widespread popular support amongst not only the population, but also tribal leaders. Several leaders of the Southern Secessionist Movement warned that they would continue to disrupt the electoral process, accusing the coalition government of “obeying foreign powers to the detriment of the will of their people.” Similar calls were echoed by tribes in Hadramaut, an eastern province of Yemen and throughout territories under control of al-Houthis militants. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/GugcG Tags: Aden, Division, Revolt, South Section: Latest News, Yemen
