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 (GPC) 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.Country profile: Yemen. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (August 2008). 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 (74 percent of the popular vote) and 5,078 local council seats (74 percent of the popular vote). In the September 2006 presidential election, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) 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 (such as Ansar Allah) are also listed here. All other operating parties are listed under minor parties. Parties that are long inactive are listed as defunct.

Major parties

PartyAcronymLeaderPolitical position & ideologiesGeneral People's Congressالمؤتمر الشعبي العامal-Muʾtamar aš-Šaʿbī al-ʿĀmmGPCYemeni Congregation for Reformالتجمع اليمني للإصلاحat-Tajammu’u al-Yamanī lil-IṣlāḥAl-IslahMohammed al-YadumiYemeni Socialist Partyالحزب الاشتراكي اليمنيal-Hizb al-Ishtiraki al-YamaniYSPAbdulraham Al-SaqqafNasserist Unionist People's Organisationالتنظيم الوحدوي الشعبي الناصريat-Tanẓīm al-Waḥdawī al-Shaʿbī al-NāṣirīNUPOAbdulmalik Al-MekhlafiYemeni unionismNasserism Anti-HouthiArab Socialist Ba'ath Partyحزب البعث العربي الاشتراكيḤizb al-Ba‘th al-‘Arabī al-IshtirākīASBPQassam SalamNeo-Ba'athismArab socialismPro-HouthiAnsar Allahأَنْصَار ٱللَّٰهʾAnṣār AllāhHouthisAbdul-Malik al-Houthi

Minor parties PartyAcronymLeaderPolitical position & ideologiesNew Yemen Partyحزب اليمن الجديدḤizb al-Yaman al-Jadīd - - Centrismanti-HouthiNational Accord Partyحزب الوفاق الوطنيḤizb al-Wafaq al-Watani - - Big TentPro-HouthiNasserist Reform Organisationتنظيم التصحيح الشعبي الناصريTanzim at-Tashikh ash-Shabi an-NasiriNRO - Mujahed al-QuhaliNational Arab Socialist Ba'ath Partyحزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي القوميḤizb al-Ba‘th al-‘Arabī al-Ishtirākī al-QawmiNASBAhmad ShutriBa'athismArab socialismYemeni Dignity Partyحزب الكرامة اليمنيḤizb al-Karamah al-Yamanī - Ahmad Abdurrahman al-'AmmariPatriotismCentrismMilitarismpro-HouthiLiberation Front Partyحزب جبهة التحريرḤizb Jabhat at-Tahrīr - - Arab nationalismDemocratic Nasserist Partyالحزب الناصري الديمقراطيal-Ḥizb al-Nasiri al-DimuqratiDNP -Yassin Abdu Saeed Center-leftNasserismArab nationalismHizb ut-Tahrirحزب التحريرḤizb at-TaḥrīrHTAta Abu RashtaIslamismCaliphalismParty of Truthحزب الحقḤizb al-HaqqHP -Zaydi IslamismQuinn Mecham & Julie Chernov Hwang (2014) Islamist Parties and Political Normalization in the Muslim World, University of Pennsylvania Press, p140Yemeni Unionist Congregationالتجمع الوحدوي اليمنيat-Tajammu' al-Wahdawī al-Yamanī - - Center-leftArab nationalism

Defunct parties

PartyAcronymLeaderPolitical position & ideologiesDemocratic Unionist Partyالحزب الوحدوي الديمقراطيḤizb al-Wahdawi ad-Dimuqrati - - Center-leftArab nationalismDemocratic Septembrist Organizationالتنظيم السبتمبري الديمقراطيat-Tanẓīm as-Sabtambarī ad-Dīmuqrātī - - Center-leftArab nationalismPeople's Vanguard Party (South Yemen)حزب الطليعة الشعبيةḤizb at-Tali'ah ash-Sha'abiyah - Abdallah Badhib Ba'athismPopular Democratic Unionالاتحاد الشعبي الديمقراطيIttihad ash-Sha'abi ad-Dīmuqrātī - - Center-leftArab nationalismRevolutionary Democratic Party of Yemenالاتحاد الشعبي الديمقراطي اليمنḤizb ad-Dīmuqrātī ath-Thawrī al-Yaman - Sultan Omar Marxism-LeninismArab nationalismYemen Green Partyحزب الخضر الاجتماعيḤizb al-Khadhr al-Ijtimā'ī - - Green politics Yemeni League Partyحزب الرابطة اليمنيةḤizb ar-Rabitah al-Yamaniyah - - CenterYemeni Popular Unity Partyحزب الوحدة الشعبية اليمنيةḤizb al-Wahdah ash-Sha'abiyah al-Yamaniyah YPUP - Center-leftArab nationalismYemeni Progressive Organizationالتنظيم التقدمي اليمنيat-Tanzim at-Taqadumi al-Yamani - - Center-left

List of coalitions The National Council for the Forces of the Peaceful Revolution was declared on 17 August 2011, amidst the Yemeni Revolution, to unite the opposition groups, parties, coalitions, and youth protesters. Among the 143 representatives elected to sit on it are leaders from Al-Islah, the South Yemen Movement, the Alliance of Yemeni Tribes, and the defected First Armoured Division. The Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) was formed in 2005 by five opposition parties to effect political and economic reform. It includes the northern-based, tribal, and Islamist-oriented Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) and the secular Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which represents the remnants of the former South Yemeni leadership. According to Al Jazeera English, it was formed in 2002 and includes Islah, Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), Hizb Al-Haq (a semi-religious party), the Unionist party, and the Popular Forces Union party.Who's who in Yemen's opposition? , Al Jazeera English, 28 February 2011 The spokesperson as of 23 March 2011 is Muhammad Qahtan, who replaced Mohammed Al-Sabri.Yemen passes emergency laws to quell protests, The Guardian, 23 March 2011 Following the fall of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the coalition disappeared without a formal dissolution. The Common Forum includes the five biggest opposition groups in Yemen, including Reform, Socialist, Nasserist, Popular Force and al-Haq.Yemen activists breaking new ground, BBC News, 2 February 2011Yemeni police struggle to break up clashing protesters, Al Arabiya News Channel, 14 February 2011 (Likely just another name for the JMP.)

See also 2011–2012 Yemeni revolution

References