26 party ideology, democratising its leadership structures and reaching out to new members. It is still to observe how ideologically, and structure­wise the party will come to be or to develop into, especially with its new Secretary General Dr. Al-Eryani. The original organisers of the party were all prominent social leaders and elite’s: sheikhs, social and religious figures, business leaders, and intellectuals, most of them representing traditional and tribal balances. This group consisted of President Saleh and several of his close advi­sors including Abdulkarim Al-Eryani, the former Prime Minister, Ya­hya Mutawakkil, the present First Deputy General Secretary of the GPC; Abdulwahab Al-Ansi, a founder of the Muslim Brotherhood and current Deputy General Secretary of Islah; Abdulaziz Abdulghani the former Prime Minister and the current Chairman of the Consultative (Shura) Council; and members of Al-Hujariah merchant and social class in Taiz including Sultan Barakani, Hayel Saied, and Al-Asbahi. Finally, the party’s electoral history in terms of vote percentage is as follows. The Republic of Yemen(ROY) has had two parliamentary elections, the first in 1993 and the second in 1997. In 1993, the GPC won 122 out of 301 seats, and in 1997 it won 224 seats. Moreover, in the 1999 presidential elections, the party’s President Saleh of Republic won the elections as the party’s candidate. The GPC is presently the ruling party of the ROY, holding power on and at the national level. _K=aÉÑáåáíáçå=~åÇ=dìáÇáåÖ=mêáåÅáéäÉë= The GPC describes and defines itself as“a political organisation of the people created to continue the march of the Yemeni national move­ments and unity”. As the ruling party of Yemen since its inception in 1982, it has been looking for a role to play in politics. The party aims to continue in its leadership role both in the Parliament and the presi­dency. It is an important task that requires consulting, engaging, and sometimes uniting with other political and popular forces. The party leadership might also require marginalizing others, using all the state facilities and influences, if the inner, regional, and international circum­stances allow to.