almotamar.net - The International Foundation for Election Systems IFES on Saturday praised the democratic development in Yemen, affirming its continuation in supporting the Yemeni democratic experiment through many areas among them cooperation with the Supreme Commission for Election and Referendum SCER in carrying out the tasks related to holding free and honest elections.


In person of its executive director resident in Yemen Peter Williams, IFES expressed its refusal of postponement of the elections as well as boycotting them in addition to rejection of partisan accords concluded outside the sphere of the law. Despite of Mr Williams conviction in the importance of and accords which he said dialogues are very good and accords are good but there is time for dialogue and another for taking decisions and implementing the authority of the law and respect of constitutional dates.

In an interview to almotamar.net the director of IFES in Yemen stressed the importance of elections regulation in their constitutional dates, mentioning that one of the essential principles of democracy is regularity of elections and holding them in the dates defined for them. He added that his foundation held previous meetings with political parties and told them that boycotting is not good for the parties themselves nor for Yemen and that postponement is not good for Yemen.

Mr Williams maintained that he mentioned at more than one activity he had participated in and in press statements that an accord outside the law is an illegitimate practice on part of all the political parties. Mr Williams affirmed that the electoral record is correct in general and blamed the parties of which he said they impede work of the SCER by setting up electoral committees from the parties. He said formation of election committees from parties is a wrong matter; the members of the committees should be independents.

Mr Williams said the democracy means there are parties or a ruling party and others are opposition. The citizens elect a party granting it authority for three or four years during which the party possesses the power for its government to carry out its promises and programmes the voters authorized it to carry out and take the decisions it deems suitable. He said the role of the opposition is monitoring the government’s implementation of its promises in addition to submitting alternative policies to the government and the latter is supposed to adopt the opposition’s sound opinions but the government is not obliged legally to work according to suggestions of the opposition that must propose good programmes so that to gain hearts and brains of electors so that to vote for it in the following elections.