SANA'A: On the eve of the presidential elections, which will see the crowning of Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi as Yemen's next president of the country, President Ali Abdullah Saleh addressed a last farewell to the nation through a statement read on the national television channel. Saleh called on Yemenis to actively participate in the presidential elections, as he stressed it was their patriotic duty and the only way to guarantee a safe and peaceful transition of power. “I would like to seize this opportunity to reiterate my call for Yemeni men and women to exercise their constitutional-granted right and vote for Hadi. Dear brothers and sisters, we are quite confident that you will partake in the democratic process, which will preserve the nation and its accomplishments,” Saleh wrote. Interestingly, Saleh urged the nation to forget past grievances and feuds, to “build brotherly-like mutual trust and put the past behind.” Saleh, who is reported to be returning to Sana'a, the capital ahead of the inaugural ceremony on Wednesday closed his statement by saying goodbye to power and welcoming civilian life. “I say farewell to power, which has always been to me as well as to all reasonable people a burden. And I will always be an honest Yemeni citizen to his people.” Detractors are still arguing that since his family is still very much in charge of the military, “his farewell statement are just empty words on paper and means nothing.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/19RoQ Tags: Election, Farewell, President, Saleh Section: Latest News, Yemen
