2003 Yemeni parliamentary election


Parliamentary elections were held in Yemen on 27 April 2003, having originally scheduled for 2001. The General People's Congress of President Ali Abdullah Saleh received 58% of the vote, winning 226 of the 301 seats.

Campaign

Nineteen parties fielded a total of 991 candidates for the 301 seats in the House of Representatives, in addition to 405 independent candidates. Over eight million Yemeni citizens were registered to vote, with the number of registered women voters almost doubling since 1997.

Conduct

Although the election was deemed to be more free and fair than in previous years, there were still concerns about the conduct of the vote. The National Democratic Institute noted that:

Results

The General People's Congress initially won 226 seats, and were immediately joined by 12 independents. Results in three seats were invalidated. Despite the increase in the number of women voters, only one woman was elected, down from two in the 1997 elections.