By: Jamil al-Jadabi - SANA'A- The Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER) has announced 89,000 Yemeni soldiers are ready to protect electoral documents, international and local observers, and representatives of candidates during the September elections.
In a press conference held Wednesday, Saif al-Sharabi, chairman of the SCER security committee, said the soldiers and officers will be present during the election process, and distributed in 333 districts, and 5,620 electoral centers. Some officers have long experience in protecting electoral centers as they have participated in previous elections in Yemen, he added.
Head of information sector at the SCER, Abdu al-Janadi, called on the presidential candidates to control themselves and reconsider their speeches, warning of turning the democratic impulsion and enthusiasm of their supporters into violence.
Al-Janadi also asked candidates to exaggerate in a reasonable but not deceptive way. "Candidates are requested to exaggerate within reasonable limits, not to the extent of fraud and deception. They will not create a paradise on earth for us," he noted.
According to al-Janadi, the best candidate is he who respects public view and doesn't exaggerate, stressing on the importance of taking into consideration people's emotions. "Yemen is a country with a huge population, but few resources. We have to focus on this fact, away from imaginary promises. Economy can't be established by speeches or articles," al-Janadi stated.