At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Yemen

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ali Abdullah SALEH *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Abdul al-Qadir BA JAMAL
• Assembly: Yemen has a bicameral Legislature consisting of the Shura Council with 111 seats and the House of Representatives with 301 seats.

* If no candidate obtains an absolute majority of votes cast, a run-off election is held between the two highest-polling candidates.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by direct popular vote to serve a 7-year term.
• In the Shura Council 111 members are appointed by the president. In the House of Representatives 301 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Ali Abdullah SALEH
  • Party: General People's Congress (GPC)
• Faisal Bin SHAMLAN
  • Party: Joint Meeting Parties (JMP)
• Fathi Mohammed Al-AZAB
  • Party: Independent Candidate
• Yassin Abdo Saeed NO’AMAN
  • Party: National Opposition Council (NOC)
• Ahmed Abdullah Majeed AL-MAJIDI
  • Party: Independent Candidate

Last Presidential election:

• The last presidential election was held on September 23, 1999. Ali Abdullah SALEH was elected President with 96.2% against Najib Qahtan AL-SHABI who obtained 3.8%.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 21,456,188 (July 2006 est.)
• Registered Voters: 9,247,390 (September 2006 )