Yemeni president vows to hold early presidential election

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Monday he was committed to holding early presidential elections, the official SABA news agency said on its website. In a national address at the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Saleh, who is currently undergoing medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, said that the Yemeni people can find several constitutional solutions to overcome the current political crisis in the country. "We Yemenis have correct and accurate knowledge to the best interests of the people and the country...and a clear view...to apply deferred legal and constitutional duties and prepare for free elections of a new president of the country," SABA quoted Saleh as saying. The Yemeni president, whose term in the office ends in 2013, did not say when the early election is going to take place or whether he was going to run for re-election. Saleh left hospital on August 6, more than two months after being wounded in a rocket attack on his residence in Sanaa, but remains in Riyadh during convalescence. Saleh's 33-year rule has been challenged by a nationwide popular uprising since February. Yemeni opposition leaders said in late July that they would not negotiate peace with the president unless he signs a deal brokered by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to leave office early. Saleh and the opposition have been haggled over details of the deal, which stipulates Saleh's resignation in exchange for immunity from prosecution for him and his family, since mid-April. It is not clear how Saleh is going to hold a "general" election in the country where the southern regions are under control of al-Qaeda militants and separatists have strong influence in many regions of Yemen.