Partial figures put Yemen poll turnout at 60%

Turnout for Yemen's presidential poll reached 60 percent despite violence and boycott calls in the country's south and north, according to partial figures obtained Wednesday from local election monitors. "Turnout hit an average of 60 percent" across the country, a monitor who supervised voting across several regions told AFP. More than 12 million Yemenis were eligible to vote in the referendum-like election by which Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi will replace outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, based on a deal the latter signed in November after a 10-month uprising against his rule. The poll was marred by violence with 10 people killed across the country's south, most of them in the main city of Aden, as a government official said that hardline separatists, who have vowed to disrupt the election, seized half of the polling booths there. The election, supported by the Common Forum parliamentary opposition and youth groups who have led the uprising, was boycotted by two major opposition groups -- the Southern Movement as well as northern Shiite rebels. But election monitors said turnout hit 50 percent in Aden and between 30 to 40 percent across the remaining regions of the south. A similar turnout of 50 percent was registered further north, in Saada, the stronghold of Shiite rebels, the sources said, adding that participation was lower in other northern cities. Analysts said the turnout in the single-candidate election would reflect the level of support for 66-year-old Hadi to lead the transition. In Sanaa, turnout registered 60 percent, while the highest rates were recorded in Yemen's second largest cities Taez and Ibb, south of the capital. The head of the High Electoral Commission Mohammed al-Hakimi said Tuesday that "some polling stations ran out of ballots" due to the large number of voters. Votes are being counted manually and results are expected within two days, although they can take up to 10 days under Yemeni law.