Yemeni presidential election, 2006
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| Registered | 9,247,390 | ||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 65.2% | ||||||||||||||||
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Presidential elections were held in Yemen on 20 September 2006, alongside local elections. Incumbent president Ali Abdullah Saleh of the General People's Congress received 77% of the vote, defeating opposition coalition candidate Faisal Bin Shamlan.
Sadeh had been president of modern Yemen since its reunification in 1990, and had previously been president of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1978 to 1990. He became Yemen's first directly elected president in 1999, winning more than 96% of the vote. On 17 July 2005, Saleh announced that he would not run for presidency in the 2006, later reconfirming his decision on 21 June 2006 when addressing fellow party members. His announcement sparked demonstrations urging Saleh to reverse his decision, as well as demonstrations urging Saleh to follow through with his decision. However, while addressing tens of thousands of supporters in Sana'a on 24 June 2006, Saleh rescinded his earlier decision stating "I comply with the people's pressure and upon the people's desire; I will run in the coming polls." This was not the first time Saleh has reversed the decision to not run, as he had previously done so prior to the 1999 elections.
The Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) opposition coalition was formed in 2002 by al-Islah, the Yemeni Socialist Party, the Party of Truth, the Unionist party, and the Popular Forces Union. On 2 July 2006 Faisal Bin Shamlan was named as the alliance's candidate. Prior to the reunification of South and North Yemen in 1990, Shamlan had been the Minister of Infrastructure and Oil in the socialist government of South Yemen.
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