YEMEN: parliamentary elections Majlis Annowab, 2003

YEMEN
Parliamentary Chamber: Majlis Annowab

ELECTIONS HELD IN 2003

<<< Return to the Historical Archive page of parliamentary election results for YEMEN <<<

Chamber:

Majlis Annowab

Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):

27 April 2003

Purpose of elections:

Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.

Background and outcome of elections:

On 27 April 2003, more than eight million voters elected the 301 members of the Parliament in the country's third parliamentary elections, since its unification in 1990. According to the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER), some 1,536 candidates, representing 22 parties and independents, contested the elections.
There were only 16 female candidates, the smallest percentage ever, even though female voters make up 45% of the registered electorate.
The main parties were President Ali Abdullah Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC), the opposition Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) of the Speaker of Parliament and the Yemeni Socialist Party. In the outgoing House, the GPC had 226 seats, Islah 62, the opposition Nasserite party three seats and the Baath party two. Independents held eight seats while the Socialist Party had no representative.
The electoral campaign was overshadowed by the US-led war on Iraq, a factor which made the atmosphere not as exciting as in earlier elections. All political parties gave priority to the fight against terrorism, but with completely different approaches. The GPC declared its intention to continue cooperating with the United States and the rest of the world in the war against terrorism, while the Islah announced that combating terrorism should be discussed and approved by legislative institutions. During the campaign, the two main parties, GPC and Islah, threw mud at each other in the media. The Islah party accused the official media of distorting its reputation. A newspaper close to the GPC even went so far as to name the Assahwa newspaper, close to Islah, as the Taliban-Yemen mouthpiece.
Advertisement agencies were employed for the first time to produce and hang thousands of banners and posters bearing slogans of all the various parties.
Before the elections, all 22 political parties had signed a code of conduct with the aim of stopping violence during the elections. Even though violent incidents were reported, there was less election violence than in previous polls held in this country, where many people carry arms (for example, 29 people were killed in fighting related to municipal elections in 2001).
Violence erupted in several places on polling day. At least fifteen people were shot and three polling stations closed by officials due to shootouts among rival parties. The violence occurred despite a 100,000-strong military presence deployed at polling stations across the country. The polls were supervised by 175 international observers and thousands of national monitors.
Final results indicated that the People's General Congress had retained its overwhelming majority after winning 238 seats, as against 46 seats for the opposition Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah), 8 for the Yemeni Socialist Party, and 4 for Independents. The Nasserite Unionist Popular Organisation obtained three seats, while the Arab Baath Socialist Party won the remaining two.
On 10 May 2003, the new Parliament convened its first meeting and re-elected Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Ahmar as its Speaker.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (27 April 2003): Elections results

Number of registered electors 8 035 721

Voters 6 105 696 (76 %)

Blank or invalid ballot papers 193 302

Valid votes 5 912 394

Round no 1: Distribution of votes

Political Group Votes %

General People's Congress (GPC) 3 429 888 58.01

Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) 1 333 394 22.55

Yemeni Socialist Party 227 223 3.84

Nasserite Unionist Popular Organization 109 480 1.85

Arab Baath Socialist Party 40 377 0.68

Independents n.a. n.a.

Round no 1: Distribution of seats

Political Group Total

General People's Congress (GPC) 238

Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) 46

Yemeni Socialist Party 8

Nasserite Unionist Popular Organization 3

Arab Baath Socialist Party 2

Independents 4

Distribution of seats according to sex:

Men: 300

Women: 1

Percent of women: 0.33

<<< Return to the Historical Archive page of parliamentary election results for YEMEN <<<

Chamber:
	Majlis Annowab
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	27 April 2003
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	On 27 April 2003, more than eight million voters elected the 301 members of the Parliament in the country's third parliamentary elections, since its unification in 1990. According to the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER), some 1,536 candidates, representing 22 parties and independents, contested the elections. There were only 16 female candidates, the smallest percentage ever, even though female voters make up 45% of the registered electorate. The main parties were President Ali Abdullah Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC), the opposition Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) of the Speaker of Parliament and the Yemeni Socialist Party. In the outgoing House, the GPC had 226 seats, Islah 62, the opposition Nasserite party three seats and the Baath party two. Independents held eight seats while the Socialist Party had no representative. The electoral campaign was overshadowed by the US-led war on Iraq, a factor which made the atmosphere not as exciting as in earlier elections. All political parties gave priority to the fight against terrorism, but with completely different approaches. The GPC declared its intention to continue cooperating with the United States and the rest of the world in the war against terrorism, while the Islah announced that combating terrorism should be discussed and approved by legislative institutions. During the campaign, the two main parties, GPC and Islah, threw mud at each other in the media. The Islah party accused the official media of distorting its reputation. A newspaper close to the GPC even went so far as to name the Assahwa newspaper, close to Islah, as the Taliban-Yemen mouthpiece. Advertisement agencies were employed for the first time to produce and hang thousands of banners and posters bearing slogans of all the various parties. Before the elections, all 22 political parties had signed a code of conduct with the aim of stopping violence during the elections. Even though violent incidents were reported, there was less election violence than in previous polls held in this country, where many people carry arms (for example, 29 people were killed in fighting related to municipal elections in 2001). Violence erupted in several places on polling day. At least fifteen people were shot and three polling stations closed by officials due to shootouts among rival parties. The violence occurred despite a 100,000-strong military presence deployed at polling stations across the country. The polls were supervised by 175 international observers and thousands of national monitors. Final results indicated that the People's General Congress had retained its overwhelming majority after winning 238 seats, as against 46 seats for the opposition Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah), 8 for the Yemeni Socialist Party, and 4 for Independents. The Nasserite Unionist Popular Organisation obtained three seats, while the Arab Baath Socialist Party won the remaining two. On 10 May 2003, the new Parliament convened its first meeting and re-elected Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Ahmar as its Speaker.

Round no 1 (27 April 2003): Elections results
Number of registered electors	8 035 721
Voters	6 105 696 (76 %)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	193 302
Valid votes	5 912 394

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Votes	%
General People's Congress (GPC)	3 429 888	58.01
Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah)	1 333 394	22.55
Yemeni Socialist Party	227 223	3.84
Nasserite Unionist Popular Organization	109 480	1.85
Arab Baath Socialist Party	40 377	0.68
Independents	n.a.	n.a.

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
General People's Congress (GPC)	238
Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah)	46
Yemeni Socialist Party	8
Nasserite Unionist Popular Organization	3
Arab Baath Socialist Party	2
Independents	4

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	300
Women:	1
Percent of women:	0.33