Yemen Votes

People in Yemen are voting a new president to replace veteran leader Ali Abdullah Saleh. Voters are expected to rubber-stamp Vice-President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi the only candidate in Tuesday's poll.

The poll comes after a year of violent anti-government protests in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country. Long queues formed early in the morning at polling stations in the capital Sanaa, protected by tight security measures.

Violence continued on Monday, with at least one polling station attacked in the south. One person is said to have been killed. The separatist Southern Movement and the northern Shia rebels have called on people to boycott the poll.

But the main supporters of the uprising that began in January 2011 are supporting Mr Hadi, whose election posters are prominently displayed in Sanaa.

He is from the south himself and has called for dialogue with the rebels there. The election follows a deal brokered by Yemen's Gulf Arab neighbours.

Saleh, who has been in office for 33 years, signed the agreement to step down but only once a new president is elected. On Monday, he urged Yemenis to vote for Hadi to ensure a peaceful transition of power"

According to the election rules, there is no minimum turnout for the vote to be valid. The new leader will face a daunting list of tasks an ongoing rebellion in large chunks of the country, al-Qaeda militants and also widespread malnutrition among children and severe drought.

More than 12 million people are eligible to vote. Ten million registered for the last vote in 2006 in addition to 2.2 million new voters. The new president is due to stay in office for two years, when a further round of presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled.