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| Registered | 10,243,364 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 64.78% | ||||||||||||||||
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 Results by governorate Hadi: 100% | |||||||||||||||||
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 Yemenportal |
| Part of a series on the Yemeni crisis |
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Presidential elections were held in Yemen on 21 February 2012. Acting President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi was the only candidate, and was subsequently sworn into office on 25 February 2012. As of 2024 [update] this is the last presidential election in Yemen, as the country descended into civil war two years later.
During the Yemeni revolution, the Gulf Cooperation Council proposed an agreement whereby President Ali Abdullah Saleh would transfer his powers to Vice President Hadi. Saleh signed an agreement in Riyadh on 23 November 2011 under which he was to remain in office as a figurehead for up to three months, after which elections would be held. [1] On 26 November, Hadi announced 21 February 2012 as the date for the elections. [2]
According to Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa, the main opposition Joint Meeting Parties coalition and the ruling General People's Congress jointly nominated Hadi as their consensus candidate. [3]
The Houthis in northern Yemen called for a boycott of the vote, but said they would not stop those who wished to vote from doing so. In the same vein, the southern secessionists also called for a boycott. Yemeni police said they had arrested "hardliners" from the movement who sought to forcefully prevent people from voting. [4]
Despite the ongoing uprising and reactions that continued to cause violence, other poll related violence included at least two attacks near polling stations prior to the vote. One of the attacks occurred the day before the election in Aden, a stronghold of the Southern Movement seeking to secede and restore an independent South Yemen, that result in the death of one soldier. The Yemeni government warned that there was "certain" to be violent attempts to disrupt the vote.[ citation needed ] On election day, at least one security service personnel was killed in the southern al-Mansoura district. Further violence was reported in the south. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was also accused of attacking election committees.
According to Yemeni law, the final result was expected within ten days. Voter turnout was reported to be 65%. [5]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi | General People's Congress | 6,621,921 | 100.00 | |
| Total | 6,621,921 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 6,621,921 | 99.80 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 13,271 | 0.20 | ||
| Total votes | 6,635,192 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 10,243,364 | 64.78 | ||
| Source: IFES | ||||
China – At a regular press briefing Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said "We hope relevant parties make joint efforts to ensure a peaceful and orderly political transitional process, to restore normal social order at an early date and realize national stability and development". [6]
Cuba – President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers of Cuba Raul Castro sent the elected president a congratulatory cable. [7]
France – A Foreign Ministry statement said that France welcomed the holding of the presidential election, commended the Yemeni people for their mobilization and the conduct of the election, which for the most part was peaceful. It also addressed its congratulations to, and expressed its support for and trust in Hadi, however it recognized that serious acts of intimidation resulting in the loss of life were committed in certain southern governorates, notably in the city of Aden, in an attempt to jeopardize the success of the elections, strongly condemning these acts. [8]
Russia – President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev sent a congratulatory telegram to Hadi, saying "We note with satisfaction that the Republic of Yemen is moving along the path of restoring stability and security and implementing a wide range of social and economic and democratic transformations based on a broad national dialog and in line with the aspirations of all of the country's citizens".[ citation needed ] Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said "We hail the efforts of the Yemeni authorities who provided voting in the earlier stated date, as well as the active participation of the people (in the election process)".[ citation needed ]
Spain – The Spanish government welcomed the elections, considering it a major step towards the democratic transition and the start of a new phase in Yemen's history. The Spanish Foreign Ministry renewed in a statement its full support for democratic transition process in Yemen and confirmed its intention to continue to work with the Yemeni government and the various spectra of Yemeni society to face the future challenges in various fields. [9]
Turkey – A Foreign Ministry statement welcomed the elections as a significant step and hoped the results of the elections would be beneficial for the Yemeni people. The statement added that "Turkey now expects a national dialogue conference to take place with participation of all seagments in Yemen". [10]
United Kingdom – Foreign Minister William Hague welcomed the successful Yemeni election saying "Yemeni people made clear there is no place for violence in Yemen's democratic future". [11]
United States – President Barack Obama told Hadi that the United States would be a steadfast partner and urged him to follow through on promises for a broad national dialogue, political reforms and elections by 2014. [12]
United Nations – UN envoy Jamal Bin Omar, while visiting some of the polling stations in Sana'a said "The February 21st, is a historic day, and it protected Yemen from a civil war". [13]
Hadi took oath of office in the House of Representatives on 25 February. [14] On the same day a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle outside a presidential palace in Mukalla, the capital of Hadhramaut Governorate, killing at least 26 members of the Republican Guard. [15] Saleh formally ceded power to Hadi and stepped down on 27 February 2012. [16]
The Politics of Yemen are in an uncertain state due to the Houthi takeover in Yemen. An armed group known as the Houthis or Ansar Allah seized control of the Northern Yemeni government and announced it would dissolve parliament, as well as install a "presidential council", "transitional national council", and "supreme revolutionary council" to govern the country for an interim period. However, the deposed president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, has declared he is still in office and is working to establish a rival government in Aden.
Ali Abdullah Saleh al-Ahmar was a Yemeni politician who served as the first President of the Republic of Yemen, from Yemeni unification on 22 May 1990, to his resignation on 27 February 2012, following the Yemeni Revolution. Previously, he had served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic, or North Yemen, from July 1978, to 22 May 1990, after the assassination of President Ahmad al-Ghashmi.
The Yemeni Socialist Party is a political party in Yemen. A successor of Yemen's National Liberation Front, it was the ruling party in South Yemen until Yemeni unification in 1990. Originally Marxist–Leninist, the party has gradually evolved into a social democratic opposition party in today's unified Yemen.
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the Parliament of Yemen. It shares the legislative power with the Shura Council, the upper house. The Assembly of Representatives has 301 members, elected for a six-year term in single-seat constituencies. It is one of the rare parliamentary chambers in the world to currently have no female representation.
In the years after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, Yemen became a key site for U.S. intelligence gathering and drone attacks on Al-Qaeda. According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 18% of Yemenis approved of U.S. leadership, with 59% disapproving and 23% uncertain. According to a February 2015 report from the Congressional Research Service, U.S. officials considered Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula the Al-Qaeda affiliate "most likely to attempt transnational attacks against the United States."
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi is a Yemeni politician and former field marshal of the Yemeni Armed Forces who served as the president of Yemen from 2012 until 2022, when he stepped down and transferred executive authority to the Presidential Leadership Council, with Rashad al-Alimi as its chairman. He was the vice president to Ali Abdullah Saleh from 1994 to 2012.
The Yemeni revolution followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred simultaneously with the 2011 Egyptian revolution and other Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa. In its early phase, protests in Yemen were initially against unemployment, economic conditions and corruption, as well as against the government's proposals to modify Yemen's constitution. The protesters' demands then escalated to calls for the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Mass defections from the military, as well as from Saleh's government, effectively rendered much of the country outside of the government's control, and protesters vowed to defy its authority.
Khaled Mahfoudh Bahah is a Yemeni politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Yemen between 2014 and 2016, as well as Vice President of Yemen from 2015 until he was dismissed on April 3, 2016, by the former President of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
International reactions to the Yemeni revolution were not as pronounced as reactions to similar events during the Arab Spring, but a number of governments and organisations made statements on Yemen before and after the departure of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power in February 2012.
The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Yemeni revolution from 3 June through 22 September 2011. The Yemeni revolution was a series of major protests, political tensions, and armed clashes taking place in Yemen, which began in January 2011 and were influenced by concurrent protests in the region. Hundreds of protesters, members of armed groups, army soldiers and security personnel were killed, and many more injured, in the largest protests to take place in the South Arabian country for decades.
The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Yemeni revolution from January to 27 February 2012. The Yemeni revolution was a series of major protests, political tensions, and armed clashes taking place in Yemen, which began in January 2011 and were influenced by concurrent protests in the region. Hundreds of protesters, members of armed groups, army soldiers and security personnel were killed, and many more injured, in the largest protests to take place in the South Arabian country for decades.
Yemeni peace process refers to the proposals and negotiations to pacify the Yemeni Crisis by arranging a power transfer scheme within the country and later cease-fire attempts within the raging civil war. While initially unsuccessful, the reconciliation efforts resulted with presidential elections, held in Yemen in February 2012. The violence in Yemen, however, continued during the elections and after, culminating in Houthi seizure of power and the ensuing civil war.
The National Dialogue Conference (NDC) was a transitional dialogue process held at the Movenpick Hotel in Sanaa, Yemen from March 18, 2013 to January 24, 2014, as part of the Yemeni crisis reconciliation efforts.
The Houthi takeover in Yemen, also known as the September 21 Revolution, or 2014–15 coup d'état, was a popular revolution against Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led by the Houthis and their supporters that pushed the Yemeni government from power. It had origins in Houthi-led protests that began the previous month, and escalated when the Houthis stormed the Yemeni capital Sanaa on 21 September 2014, causing the resignation of Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa, and later the resignation of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his ministers on 22 January 2015 after Houthi forces seized the presidential palace, residence, and key military installations, and the formation of a ruling council by Houthi militants on 6 February 2015.
The Yemeni crisis began with the 2011–2012 revolution against President Abdullah Saleh, who had led Yemen for 33 years. After Saleh left office in early 2012 as part of a mediated agreement between the Yemeni government and opposition groups, the government led by Saleh's former vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, struggled to unite the fractious political landscape of the country and fend off threats both from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and from Houthi militants that had been waging a protracted insurgency in the north for years.
The aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen refers to developments following the Houthis' takeover of the Yemeni capital of Sana'a and dissolution of the government, which eventually led to a civil war and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
The Battle of Aden International Airport broke out in the early morning hours of 19 March 2015, when Yemen Army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked the airport in Aden, Yemen. The airport was defended by soldiers and guards supporting Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, Yemen's internationally recognised president.
The Yemeni civil war is an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014 mainly between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council and the Mahdi al-Mashat-led Supreme Political Council, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
The Shura Council or Consultative Council is the upper house of the parliament of Yemen, with the lower house being the House of Representatives. Unlike the House it does not take on a legislative role, instead primarily being charged with an advisory role to the president. Per the constitution it has 111 members who are appointed by the president. There currently exist two Shura Councils as a result of the civil war, one in Sanaa aligned with the Houthis, and one aligned with the Presidential Leadership Council in Aden.
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