Editing Politics of Yemen (section)

== Provincial and local government ==
Formal government authority is centralized in the capital city of Sanaa. Yemen's Local Authority Law decentralized authority by establishing locally elected district and governorate councils (last elected in September 2006), formerly headed by government-appointed governors. After the September 2006 local and governorate council elections, President Salih announced various measures that would enable future governors and directors of the councils to be directly elected. In May 2008, governors were elected for the first time. However, because the ruling party, the General People's Congress (GPC), continues to dominate the local and governorate councils, the May 2008 elections retained this party's executive authority over the governorates. In rural Yemen, direct state control is weak, with tribal confederations acting as autonomous sub-states.<ref name=cp>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Yemen.pdf Country profile: Yemen]. [[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]] (August 2008). {{PD-notice}}</ref>