DUBAI, May 1: Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Sale's ruling General People's Congress (GPC) has claimed ``sweeping victory'' in Sunday's parliamentary elections, first one since the 1994 civil war, bagging a simple majority when 233 results of the total 301 seats were declared.

The GPC claimed it had won 161 seats in the election, which was described as ``generally free and fair'' by the international group of poll observers.

But the ruling party's former coalition partner, the Islamist Al Islah Party, which alleged manipulations during the polls, contested GPC's claim of securing a majority.

Al Islah said it had won 44 seats and that the ruling party had not yet got a majority.

However, the official Election Committee, in Saana, maintained, out of the 167 results declared so far, the GPC won 115, Al Islah 24, Independents 24 and other parties four.

At least 27 people were killed during the elections in Yemen, one of the few countries in the Middle East region having parliamentary democracy. The polls were boycotted by the key Opposition Yemen Socialist Party (YSP) and four other smaller parties citing alleged irregularities. Some of the former leaders of YSP had set off the separatist movement in 1994 leading to the civil war.

About 2,300 candidates, including 17 women, from 12 parties contested the election, which also saw violent clashes between supporters of GPC and Islah Party during campaigning.

About 4.6 million of the 16 million people in Yemen are registered to vote and more than one fourth of them are women. But officials were quoted as saying that only 2.6 million of the electorate had received their voting cards.

Unification of north and south Yemen was proclaimed in May 1990 and a new constitution was approved in 1991 making it one of the few democracies in the Arab world. Multiparty parliamentry elections in April 1993 resulted in a coaliton government led by Haydar Abu Bakr Al Attass.

President Saleh had urged the people to cast their vote and asked the parties not to use mosques for campaign, an apparent reference to the Opposition Islah Party.

The Yemeni Opposition parties boycotting the poll have accused the government of harassing and arresting their workers for their decision to stay away from the polls.

The four-member Opposition coalition includes the YSP, the Yemeni Unionist Rally, the League of the Sons of Yemen and the Union of the People's Forces, a moderate Islamist group.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.