Yemen's outgoing president urges people to vote

Feb 13, 2012, 14:46 GMT

Sana'a - Outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on the people of Yemen to vote the upcoming presidential elections to protect 'constitutional legitimacy,' in an editorial published on Monday.

'There is no doubt that our country is now living a very important historic stage after overcoming the destructive chaos, which affected several Arab countries,' Saleh wrote in Al Methaq newspaper, published by his ruling party, the General People's Congress.

He urged voters 'to exercise their right in this historic process chosen and agreed on to protect the constitutional legitimacy.'

Saleh is currently in the United States to recuperate from his fatal wounds sustained in an explosion in his presidential complex last June. However, he said he will go back to Yemen before the February 21 elections.

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

Saleh signed the Gulf-brokered deal in November to step down and pass power to Hadi, in return for immunity from prosecution.