LEAD: Yemen's sole presidential candidate promises dialogue

Feb 7, 2012, 16:38 GMT

Sana'a - Yemen's sole presidential candidate, Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi, promised to hold dialogue with all parties with no issues off the table, as he launched his election campaign Tuesday.

'We will hold a national conference after the elections, that will serve as an oasis for a constructive, effective dialogue based on openness, equality and respect, without excluding any party inside or outside Yemen,' Hadi said in an address.

The parliament unanimously nominated Vice President Hadi as the only presidential candidate, following a United Nations-sponsored deal for power transition in the strife-torn country. The election, scheduled for February 21, aims to end a year of protests and violence against the rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saleh, who is currently in the United States for medical treatment, finally signed a deal in November to step down and pass power to Hadi, in return for immunity from prosecution.

'There will be no red lines on any issue,' Hadi added in the speech outlining his presidential programme. His elections campaign is titled 'Together to Build the new Yemen.'

Hadi promised that the 'wheels of change were starting to move' and that dialogue will discuss problems in the southern part of the country, where some are calling for separation, or the Shiite rebels in northern parts.

Both Saleh's ruling party, the General Peoples Congress, and the opposition coalition the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) agreed on Hadi's candidacy.

However, the separatist Southern Movement, calling for the separation of southern Yemen, and the Houthi Shiite rebels reject Hadi and are calling on people to boycott the election.

Yemen is also facing another problem, with militants, believed to be affiliated to al-Qaeda, expanding their influence in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, taking advantage of a year of political turmoil in Yemen.

The opposition has accused Saleh of manipulating the threat of al-Qaeda to wrest support from the West and extend his stay in power, despite months of protest against him.