Yemen is a multiparty democracy. The president retains executive power while the House of Representatives holds legislative power.
Main Political Issues
Instability
The 1993 general election resulted in a government of national unity being formed. However, the merger of South and North Yemen has been under severe strain since then. Growing animosity between the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), which formerly ruled in Adan, and the conservative hierarchy in Sana led to the outbreak of full-blown civil war in May 1994.
Saudi interference
In the run up to the elections, there were bombings and attacks on leading politicians. Since the Gulf War, political relationships with Saudi Arabia have been strained, raising suspicions that the latter is funding northern dissidents.
Profile
The merger of North and South Yemen in 1990 united Yemenis under one ruler for the first time since 1735. At first, President Ali Saleh, who had had difficulty controlling the north even before the union with the socialist regime in Adan, skillfully maintained unity. Then, in the spring of 1994, tensions mounted following an assassination attempt on a political supporter of Saleh's, Hassan Makki. Amid accusations from the South that President Saleh was attempting to overthrow Vice President al-Baidh, the former leader of South Yemen, civil war broke out. Most of the fighting was centered in the South, in particular around the port of Adan, which became the scene of mass evacuations by European workers. By July 1994, the fighting had died down, and the South's attempted secession had been quashed.
