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February 21, 2012

Yemen Holds “Election” in Deal to End Saleh's 33-Year Rule 
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Voters in Yemen went to the polls today to select a new president,
officially ending the 33-year rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh. Only one
candidate is on the ballot — Saleh's vice president, Abed Rabbo
Mansour al-Hadi. He was nominated in a deal between the ruling party and
formal opposition parties. Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman
hailed the vote as a step to building a new Yemen.

Tawakkul Karman: "This is the day of holy happiness, this the day of
victory. Now we are officially announcing the end of Ali Abdullah
Saleh's era, thanks to God he is gone. Today we are building the new
Yemen, we are building the democratic and happy Yemen that all of the
youth and women have dreamed about."

The new Yemeni government is expected to have close military ties to the
United States. President Obama's chief counter-terrorism adviser, John
Brennan, said a number of U.S. officials would visit Yemen to help
restructure Yemen's military.



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