Military

DATE= 04/27/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=YEMEN / ELECTION (L)

NUMBER=2-302613

BYLINE=GREG LAMOTTE

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

INTRO: Parliamentary elections are underway in Yemen where security is

very tight and citizens are being warned the (Sunday) elections will be shut down

if there are any acts of violence. V-O-A's Greg LaMotte reports that

70-percent of Yemen's voters are expected to take part in elections that the government hopes will show there is a democratic process in the country, which has been a haven for Islamist militants.

TEXT: With 100-thousand Yemeni soldiers maintaining security and 175

international observers in place, more than eight million Yemeni men and

women are expected to vote in the parliamentary elections.

Yemen's president (Ali Abdullah Saleh) warned people not to engage in

acts of violence, saying voting polls would be shut down if any trouble

erupts.

More than ten people were killed and dozens injured during municipal

elections in 2001.

Voters are choosing from among 12-hundred candidates contesting

301 seats in Yemen's parliament. Observers say in light of the U-S led war

against Iraq, the government is eager to show Washington that Yemenis have a say in how their country is run.

Twenty two political parties are being represented, and there are a number of

independent candidates.

The General Peoples Congress controls Yemen's parliament and is

fielding the most candidates with 297.

The two main opposition parties, the Socialist Party and the Islamic

Reform Party, are expected to wage strong challenges with a total of 364

candidates. But, because the General Peoples Congress uses public funds to back its own representatives, political observers in Yemen say it is likely to

maintain control of the parliament.

Yemen, home to many Islamist militants and extremist groups sympathetic

to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network, has cooperated closely

with Washington's war on terror. Washington has funded training for

elite Yemeni security forces.

Many Yeminis carry weapons, and outbreaks of violence, mostly linked to

family or tribal disputes, are common.

Yemen's Interior Ministry has warned that anyone found to be carrying a

weapon inside an election-related building will be prosecuted.

Sunday's parliamentary elections in Yemen are the third to be held since

North and South Yemen unified in 1990. The last such election was six

years ago. (Signed)

NEB/GL/KBK