The Yemeni Congregation for Reform (al-Islâh): The Difficult Process of Building a Project for Change

The Yemeni Congregation for Reform (al-Tajammu' al-yamanî lil-islâh), commonly known as al-Islâh, was established on September 13, 1990, a few months after the unification of North and South Yemen and the legalization of a multi-party system. It was created at a time of profound changes in the Yemeni political system, which went from a single-party system in each of the two Yemens (the General People's Congress in North Yemen and the Yemeni Socialist Party in South Yemen) to a political project in a unified Yemen who regarded itself as openly democratic. Opposition parties were then allowed (except based on regionalist or sectarian grounds) and within a year, 20 political parties were accounted for. Partisan and independent press also emerged, elections were organized, and a new constitution was drafted. Though sudden, the transition was initially rather painless and free of major violence or protest, even within the two former single parties (...)