Saleh calls for early Yemen elections

[Jefferson23]

Yemeni president's call for early polls comes a day after he pledged again to sign a deal to end his decades-long rule.
Last Modified: 20 May 2011 11:52


Yemen's president has called for early presidential elections, a day after making yet another promise to sign a deal that would end his decades-long rule.

Speaking to supporters after Friday prayers in the capital, Sanaa, Ali Abdullah Saleh said that he wanted to hold an early election to end the country's political crisis.

"We call for an early presidential election in a democratic way, in order to avoid bloodshed," Saleh told thousands of supporters.

It is unclear whether such an election would occur under a deal mediated by the Gulf Co-operation Council, or if Saleh was making an alternative proposal.

A day earlier, Saleh pledged that he would sign the GCC deal on Sunday, a spokesman said, in a move that was greeted with caution by the opposition.

The opposition has accused the embattled leader of stalling. Saleh has previously rejected the agreement on two occasions, most recently 24 hours before his latest promise to sign.

Yemen continues to reel from three months of street protests that have seen mass demonstrations by citizens and disavowals of Saleh's authority from top army commanders. Protests against Saleh's reign continued on Friday, with thousands gathering in Sanaa and Taiz.

The United States, which considers Yemen a key ally in fighting al-Qaeda, appears to have backed away from supporting Saleh, with Barack Obama, the US president, calling on him to stand down.

IN FULL: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/201152042816774534.html

[bemildred]

1. Stall, stall, stall. nt