Technocrat Recasts Yemen's Presidential Race, Political Future

SANAA, Yemen, Sept. 19 -- When Faisal bin Shamlan was approached several months ago by a coalition of opposition groups to run in this week's presidential election, he turned down the offer. The 72-year-old economist, who had resigned as oil minister to protest corruption, was enjoying his days reading and going on long, solitary walks. Running against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power for more than 28 years, would be an arduous journey better suited to a younger, more energetic man, he believed.

When bin Shamlan subsequently changed his mind, it turned what was set to be a conventional, lackluster exercise into the most competitive presidential election in the Arab world -- a far cry from 1999, when Saleh was pitted against a low-ranking member of his own party and won with 96 percent of the vote.

More important, his decision has been a boon for democracy in Yemen and set up a key test for reform in the region. By going up against an all-powerful president who has maintained his grip on the country for almost three decades, bin Shamlan broke a barrier of fear. And, he says, he is arresting the country's slide toward hereditary rule.

"There was a real danger of Yemen turning into a republic-monarchy, where presidents-for-life groom their sons to take over, like in Egypt and Syria," bin Shamlan said. "That was one of the main points that made me determined. Out of this election, at least we have made it almost impossible for [Saleh] to groom his son."

Very few people, however, expect bin Shamlan to win Wednesday's election. Saleh's government presents the race "as if it's between two candidates, two parties," said Mohammad Naji, a prominent human rights lawyer. "But it is actually one man representing a party who is facing not only an entire government but also a president who is employing all the country's resources on his behalf."

The organization backing bin Shamlan, the Joint Meeting Parties, is an alliance of five opposition groups that includes the powerful religious party known as Islah and the Yemeni Socialist Party. The disparate partners put their ideological differences aside and formed the alliance in 2004 for the sole purpose of initiating political reform, says Islah's assistant secretary general, Abdul-Wahab al-Anisi.

"We subordinated our ideological agendas to the one thing we all had in common, which was a realization that political reform was a necessity if we were to save democracy in Yemen and stop the country's descent into endemic corruption," he said.

Bin Shamlan was chosen after much deliberation, Anisi said, because of his reputation for competence and, more important, honesty -- rare in Yemeni politics.

When bin Shamlan was convinced that all the parties in the coalition were behind his candidacy and that his run could make a difference, he agreed. "The increase of beggars in the street and deterioration of the political, economic and social conditions -- I felt it was my duty to do whatever I could to put an end to that," he said.

If he becomes president, he says, one of the first things he will do will be to use his executive powers to shrink the powers of the executive.

The president "assigns the prime minister," he said, counting off on his fingers, "he is head of the armed forces, he appoints the head of the judiciary, he can dissolve parliament and call for elections." Bin Shamlan shook his head. "That's too much power for the president and not enough accountability. We need to strengthen parliament."

Bin Shamlan's national reputation has developed over more than 30 years in public service, during which time he has resigned three times to protest corruption and what he believed to be political misdeeds. A technocrat who built a reputation for leaving all the ministries and government posts he worked in better and richer than when he started, he is one of a select group of Yemeni politicians who attended the elite Ghail Bawazeer school in southern Yemen when the country was still under British rule.

The most famous anecdote about him says as much about the man as it does about the state of affairs in Yemen.

Bin Shamlan resigned as oil minister in 1995 after a frustrating year of dealing with foreign oil companies and being undermined by government officials. He had laid out a strategy and written a proposal for reforming the ministry, delegating authority and holding everyone accountable. When it was turned down, he resigned, left his ministry car in the garage and grabbed a taxi home.

The story was passed from person to person and took on a life of its own, becoming part of bin Shamlan's legend.

Adding to his reputation was his very public resignation -- which was not accepted -- from parliament when, in 2001, the body extended members' terms from four to six years and that of the president from five to seven. "It wasn't in their mandate," he said. "They should have gone back to the people first."

Islah party leader Anisi said that the support for bin Shamlan's candidacy has taken Saleh's government by surprise and that officials have just started to realize how potent a candidate he is.

When bin Shamlan met with representatives from the European Union election observation mission Sunday at the alliance's campaign headquarters, Anisi handed out two thick reports -- more than 70 pages -- detailing alleged government violations. They included the arrest of supporters for carrying or putting up posters of bin Shamlan, employing army checkpoints to block supporters from attending his rallies, and using state media to promote support of Saleh.

Despite such alleged activities, bin Shamlan's rallies have generally been full, drawing up to 100,000 people in some provinces.

At a recent rally at the al-Thawra stadium in Sanaa, men wearing Yemen's traditional wraparound skirts, their heads covered with colorful scarves, poured for more than an hour through the lone door that authorities had allowed open in the stadium. Many carried Islah's blue and white flag with a rising sun. Women in black cloaks and veils, their eyes visible through slits in the material, packed two designated corners of the stadium.

Hamid al-Ahmar, the charismatic son of Islah leader Abdullah al-Ahmar, told the crowd that bin Shamlan's campaign had sown terror in the hearts of the authorities. "Thank you for your courage in coming today, despite all the troubles you had to go through, and you might still face, for showing us your support," he said as about 20,000 people cheered.

The white-haired bin Shamlan, wearing a coffee-colored suit and tie, gave a shorter, less emotional speech.

"My brothers and sisters, Yemen needs change," he said in a strong voice belying his age. "Not just a change from one person to another, but a complete overhaul from a centralized system to an institutionalized one that doesn't distinguish between any of its citizens."

The crowd started chanting: "No corruption from now on; bin Shamlan has arrived. No corruption for now on; bin Shamlan has arrived."