CIAO DATE: 03/04

Yemen between Democratization and Prolonged Power

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present my own views on Yemen’s moves to democratize. In order to do so, I will analyze a variety of issues related to the electoral system in Yemen and Yemeni political parties.

In 1988, two years before the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen, North Yemen held a general election. The event garnered praise because, with the suspension of Kuwait’s parliament, no other elections were being held in the Arabian Peninsula at the time. In 1993, the first general election after unification was held. This event also drew attention from the international community as it marked the first-ever general election on the peninsula contested by multiple parties.

Despite this progress, the administration of President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been severely criticized for not making sufficient efforts to bring about democracy and for limiting political freedom. Critics say democratization in the country has fallen far short of expectations, while Saleh has been at the helm for an overlong 25 years, including his term as president of North Yemen that began in 1978.

Moves toward democratization and other political developments in Yemen are significant when compared with years past and compared with other countries on the Arabian Peninsula and other Arab countries generally. Nevertheless, Yemen easily becomes a target of criticism when evaluated against the standards of the international community. Eye-catching phrases such as, "the only country on the peninsula," or, "the first on the peninsula" are a type of journalistic shorthand for the sake of convenience of news media. I do not think it is particularly meaningful to evaluate the level of democratization in Yemen, a republic, by comparing it with the kingdoms of the GCC.

Generally, regions with labels such as the "Arab world," the "Middle East," and the "Muslim world" are rated lower in their levels of democracy, freedom, and human rights than any other part of the world. It is thus inevitable that Yemen, as part of the Muslim world, would also rank poorly.

In order to assess a country’s democratization, some comparisons are necessary and there are several ways of doing so: examining political changes in a given country over time, comparing its political situation with other countries in the region, and evaluating the country based on industrialized country standards. The conclusions one draws depend on the method one chooses. And the method, in turn, depends on how much account is given to a country’s unique circumstances when evaluating its level of democracy.

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