Editing Politics of Yemen (section)

== Political parties and elections ==
{{elect|Political parties in Yemen|Elections in Yemen}}
In April 2003 parliamentary elections, the [[General People's Congress (Yemen)|General People's Congress]] (GPC) maintained an absolute majority. International observers described the elections as "another significant step forward on Yemen's path toward democracy; however, sustained and forceful efforts must be undertaken to remedy critical flaws in the country's election and political processes."<ref>PRELIMINARY STATEMENT OF THE NDI INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVER DELEGATION TO YEMEN'S APRIL 27 LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS</ref> There were some problems with underage voting, confiscation of ballot boxes, voter intimidation, and election-related violence; moreover, the political opposition in Yemen has little access to the media, since most outlets are owned or otherwise controlled by the government.

The 2006 elections were described in positive wording, and the elections were monitored by a number of international observers. The EU's Election Observation Mission to Yemen has published this final report on the elections: [https://web.archive.org/web/20070731124132/http://www.eueom-ye.org/pdf/EU_EOM_Yemen_final_report_.pdf] Yemeni media reported on the 22.01.2007 that the opposition coalition JMP has set up a [[Shadow Cabinet|Shadow government]] "to play an effective role in the political, economic and social life".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yobserver.com/cgi-bin/2007/exec/view.cgi/23/11542 |title=Opposition parties form shadow government |access-date=2007-02-11 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070222140307/http://www.yobserver.com/cgi-bin/2007/exec/view.cgi/23/11542 |archive-date=2007-02-22 }}</ref> The ruling party GPC called upon the opposition to "acquaint themselves with constitutional systems before starting to talk every now and then about...rosy dreams and illusions".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.almotamar.net/en/1877.htm|title = - Al-Barakani comments on a JMP's proposed government}}</ref>