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unification in 1990 until shortly after the war of 1994, Yemen had a five-member
presidential council, elected by parliament. Technically, Ali Abdullah Salih was merely
its chairman - though in practice he was much more than that. On September 29, 1994, parliament approved a series of amendments
to the constitution which, among other things, abolished the presidential council and
replaced it with a one-man presidency. Two days later, under the new rules, parliament
elected Salih as president for a five-year term. He won easily, with 253 votes out of the
259 members present. Representatives of a further 42 constituencies were absent.
Other candidates were:
- Sheikh Abdul Majid Zindani (Islah)
- Ali Saleh Abbad Muqbil (YSP)
- Faisal Bin Shamlan, oil minister (independent)
- Abd al-Wahhab Mahmoud (Socialist Arab Ba'ath)
Under the 1994 constitution, subsequent presidential
elections will be conducted by a direct vote of the people and no individual can be
elected for more than two five-year terms.
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