Acting president calls on citizens to vote and promises reforms

Sana'a A blast destroyed a polling station and a soldier was killed in south Yemen on the eve of a presidential election to choose a successor to Ali Abdullah Saleh and launch reforms after a year of mass protests in the strife-torn country.

Saleh was forced to cede power in November last in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Saleh's deputy and the sole candidate, urged Yemenis to vote and promised southern separatists and northern rebels that he would address their concerns.

Saleh, who is being treated in New York, addressed his followers Monday, urging them to turn out in force and vote for Hadi.

"I seize this occasion to call you to go to the ballot boxes and vote for Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi as a president of the republic," he said.

All Yemenis who are 18 years old are eligible to vote in the election. Two of the former regime's archenemies have boycotted the election.

Boycott move

In the south, the secessionist Southern Movement has vowed to take all "peaceful means" to disrupt the election.

In the south city of Aden, activists besieged an election office yesterday and threatened to storm the office if the officer did not leave the city.

Explosion

An explosion rocked another polling station in the city Monday. Also, armed men sprang up between the south's main cities confiscating the polling boxes.

In north Yemen, Al Houthi rebels declared that they would boycott the election. Unlike the Southern Movement, they would not prevent people from voting in their area.

Facing nationwide protests, Saleh ratified last November the GCC-brokered deal and transferred his power to his deputy.

Under the terms of the deal, the new president along with unity government, will work for two years on restructuring the country's divided army, rewriting the constitution and starting a national dialogue to address concerns in the south and north.