Editorial: People power Wednesday, 22 February 2012 01:02

The most remarkable thing about Yemen election is that it has pushed from power president Ali Abdullah Saleh after 33 years. It’s also a victory for the diplomatic efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council as the election is part of a power transfer deal which the bloc had brokered.

Yesterday’s election can hardly be called one as the results are predetermined. There was only one name on the ballot --  that of Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi who will lead the country for a two-year interim period to set the stage for a complete transfer of power. But hope was writ large on the faces of Yemenis who queued up in large numbers before the polling booths and polling officials had to keep the polls open for two extra hours.

The vote makes Saleh, now in the United States for more treatment of burns suffered in an assassination attempt last June, the fourth Arab autocrat in a year to be removed from power after revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. But the difference is that, which is significant, Saleh has left on some of his own terms, which in other words can be called a dignified exit. Also, his sons and relatives are holding key positions in the new government which makes the transition a cosmetic affair and can be the fuel for future unrest, if the opposition feels that the change in Sanaa is no change at all.

Under the deal, the outgoing president can remain in the country and has been offered a blanket immunity from prosecution. But as a leader who has been in power for 33 years, he will continue to wield tremendous influence on state matters, especially with the strong web of tribal and family relations which he had built remaining intact.

Yemen is a country in deep crisis. The economy is in intensive care, there is a rebellion in the north, separatism in the south, a tenacious group of Al Qaeda which is exclusive to the country, and a military which is divided between those supporting Saleh and the opposition. For the same reason, Mansour Hadi will have a tough job ahead. First of all, he should try to bring stability and peace to the country by winning the confidence of the opposition and simultaneously work intensely to improve the economy and create jobs. For this he will have to prove that he represents all sections of the Yemeni society equally, with no leanings towards the previous regime.

The international community and Sanaa’s neighbours will be more than happy to help the new government achieve its goals. The onus is now on Hadi to prove that he can live up to the expectations of his people.