SANA'A: Voting in Yemen has begun, some 12 months after an uprising began in the country to oust President Ali Abdallah Saleh. The election is the first in the country and people are both excited and tense. Polling stations opened Tuesday across the country as voters cast their ballots to replace President Saleh after 33 years in power. Although Saleh's deputy Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi is the sole candidate in the election, which comes as a result of a deal signed in November by Saleh and the opposition for a peaceful transfer of power, to many Yemenis, it is an election nonetheless. “I am very hopeful for my country,” one local on their way to cast their ballot in the capital, told Bikyamasr.com. About 100,000 soldiers were deployed across the country's 21 provinces to ensure peace and security, the Higher Election Commission said. Several groups that were active in the uprising against Saleh's rule urged people to turn out en mass for the election. However, a movement calling for the separation of the southern provinces from the republic and Shiite rebels, known as the Houthis, have called on people to boycott the voting. Several polling stations were targeted by blasts Monday by people who oppose the polls. Under a deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saleh agreed to relinquish power to Hadi in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The agreement followed 10 months of violence as Saleh's government cracked down on demonstrators calling for his ouster, leaving nearly 900 people dead. More than 12 million people are eligible to vote in Yemen, which has a population of 24.7 million people, according to the latest census. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/OK2Iz Tags: Election, featured, Hadi, Saleh, Voting Section: Latest News, Yemen
