List of political parties in Yemen


Before the Yemeni Revolution in 2011 and the following civil war, Yemen was a one party dominant state in which the General People's Congress held power.

Legal status

Yemen's Political Parties Law mandates that political parties be viable national organizations comprising at least 75 founders and 2,500 members and not restrict membership to a particular region. The government provides financial support to political parties, including a stipend for newspaper publication.

Elections 2003–2006

The GPC captured 238 of 301 seats in parliament in the 2003 elections. In the September 2006 elections for local and governorate councils, the GPC garnered 315 seats in the governorates and 5,078 local council seats. In the September 2006 presidential election, the Joint Meeting Parties backed opposition candidate Faisal bin Shamlan, whose success in garnering 22 percent of the popular vote was viewed at the time as a first step in challenging the political stronghold of President Saleh and the GPC. However, disputes between the GPC and the JMP in 2007 over election law amendments, coupled with the JMP’s opposition to President Saleh’s proposed democratic reform measures, have halted initial attempts to forge a dialogue between the two parties.

List of parties

For the sake of clarity, this section is divided into three lists. These are major parties, minor parties and defunct parties. Major parties are defined as parties which gained a seat in the last elections in 2003. As there has been a long time without elections, parties that control territory with their armed wing are also listed here. All other operating parties are listed under minor parties. Parties that are long inactive are listed as defunct.

List of coalitions