almotamar.net - The Executive Director of the International Foundation for Democratic Systems Office in Yemen IFES Peter Williams on Saturday praised the efforts being carried out by the Yemeni Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum SCER in preparing for the parliamentary elections on 27 April 2009, stressing the necessity of supporting the SCER at the present time for correcting voter records by political parties and organisations and to omit violations.

Mr Williams said preparations and supplies made by the SCER in preparation for the parliamentary elections bring pleasure through the Commission’s keenness on clearing the election record from repeated names or those of under age and the dead by presenting them to the concerned sides. He also pointed out the necessity of holding accountable the committees that registered those of small age, interrogating them and taking measures according to the law as well as concerning those who registered their names at more than one electoral area.

In a statement to 26september.net Mr Williams added that it is very important that the Yemeni people have confidence in the present electoral register and the political parties and all concerned parties with the electoral process have to encourage the SCER in taking the steps that corrects violations in the record and also to encourage it to continue those steps that guarantee the existence of clean electoral record.


With regard to the call for postponing the elections Williams said such an option would be bad for the Yemeni democracy and contradicts one of the major principles of democracy, i.e. the presence of periodic elections according to definite time period, indicating that postponement would give opportunity to question the extent of the Yemeni democracy strength and its shouldering of that. He said if the elections were postponed once there are no guarantees they would not be postponed for another time.