_{Geneva – On the occasion of the International Day of Democracy, SAM for Rights and Liberties said that Yemen’s crisis is not limited to the war and the collapse of state institutions, but extends to a deeper crisis concerning the source of power and legitimacy, and citizens’ right to choose those who govern them, hold them accountable, and replace them through peaceful means. SAM stressed that restoring this right is an essential part of any serious path toward ending the conflict and building sustainable peace.}

_{The organization said that democracy should not be reduced to elections. Rather, it should be understood as a system that enables political differences and competition to be managed through institutions and the rule of law instead of weapons, and that is grounded in equal citizenship, freedom of expression, participation, accountability, judicial independence, and the peaceful transfer of power. In a democratic system, power is not a permanent entitlement of any individual or group, but a temporary mandate that derives its legitimacy from the will of citizens.}

_{SAM noted that this issue is particularly significant in the Arab region, where the crisis of political power remains at the heart of many conflicts and political crises. In a number of countries in the region, changing a ruler or transferring power has remained an exceptional event associated with revolutions, coups, or armed conflicts, rather than a normal political process governed by constitutions, institutions, and the will of voters.}

_{The organization added that the setbacks experienced by Arab democratic processes cannot be explained by a single factor. Rather, they are linked to a long legacy of centralized power, weak institutions, the dominance of security apparatuses, fragile judicial independence, restrictions on political parties, the press, and civil society, and weak accountability and peaceful transfers of power, alongside the impact of wars, foreign interventions, and social and sectarian divisions. Political elites also bear part of the responsibility when they fail to move from opposing those in power to building institutions and consensus capable of managing differences.}

_{SAM stressed that there is no single political model that can be imposed on all societies and that every country has its own history, social composition, and political experience. However, “specificity” must not become a pretext for justifying authoritarianism or depriving citizens of their political rights. Systems of government may differ in form, but the fundamental principles of equal citizenship, political participation, freedom of expression and association, accountability, judicial independence, and citizens’ right to choose and peacefully replace their rulers cannot be abandoned.}

_{Yemen: A Political Experience Interrupted by War and Armed Force}

_{The organization said that, despite the profound shortcomings that marked Yemen’s political experience, the country had, since unification in 1990, experienced forms of multiparty politics, elections, a relatively pluralistic press, political opposition, and civic engagement, before the 2011 protests opened greater space for forces and social groups that had not been adequately represented in the traditional political sphere.}

_{During that period, young people emerged as political and social actors demanding a more just and participatory state. Women’s participation also expanded, as did the role of civil society, human rights organizations, youth initiatives, and independent media, helping to broaden public debate over the structure and future of the state.}

_{At the National Dialogue Conference, young people, women, and civil society representatives participated in extensive discussions on the state, the constitution, citizenship, local governance, rights and freedoms, and transitional justice. Despite the shortcomings that accompanied the process, it represented an important attempt to broaden political participation and move debate over the country’s future beyond the monopoly of traditional elites and into a wider social and political sphere.}

_{SAM stressed that democracy does not begin and end at the ballot box. It begins when young people feel that their voices matter, when women are able to participate meaningfully in decision-making, when journalists, activists, and human rights defenders can work without fear, and when civil society can perform its role independently, free from the control of authorities and armed groups.}

_{Houthi Control and the Shrinking of Civic Space}

_{The organization said that the emerging political process was not given the time or conditions necessary to develop its institutions. The armed Houthi group’s takeover of Sana’a and state institutions derailed the transitional process, returned armed force to the forefront of the struggle for power, and shifted the central question from how to build a more representative and accountable state to a fundamental question: who has the right to govern, and from where does political authority derive its legitimacy?}

_{SAM added that the subsequent years witnessed a severe contraction of civic space in areas under the group’s control, restrictions on freedom of expression and association and on civic and political activity, as well as the arrest, persecution, and other violations against journalists, activists, and human rights defenders.}

_{SAM expressed particular concern over rhetoric and practices that reproduce political notions based on religious or hereditary privilege, stressing that any conception that grants one group or segment of society a political entitlement superior to that of the rest of society is fundamentally incompatible with the principle of equal citizenship and with the right of all Yemenis to participate in the conduct of public affairs on an equal footing.}

_{Tawfiq Al-Humaidi, President of SAM for Rights and Liberties, said: “The loss Yemen has suffered during the years of war is not limited to the collapse of institutions and the disruption of the political process. It also includes the erosion of the very idea of the citizen as the source of legitimacy and as the holder of the right to choose those in power and hold them accountable. A stable state cannot be built if any party believes that weapons, lineage, or force give it a right to rule that takes precedence over the will of Yemenis.”}

_{Al-Humaidi added: “Democracy is not a luxury that can be postponed until after the war; it is part of addressing the conditions that allow wars to recur. When peaceful avenues for attaining and changing power are absent, weapons become, for some forces, the shortest route to power.” He stressed that sustainable peace requires returning politics to institutions and returning decision-making power to citizens.}

_{Democracy as Part of the Path to Peace}

_{SAM stressed that ending the war and restoring state institutions must not mean returning to the patterns of governance that preceded the conflict. Instead, they should provide an entry point for building a political system that is more participatory, accountable, and respectful of rights and freedoms, guaranteeing all Yemenis, without discrimination, the right to contribute to determining the future of their country.}

_{The organization stressed that free political participation is impossible in an environment of fear and coercion, and that elections cannot fulfill their democratic function if any armed actor retains the ability to overturn the outcome of the political process by force. Any sustainable political settlement must therefore include genuine guarantees of equal citizenship, public freedoms, political participation, the independence of civil society, freedom of the press, and the rights of women and young people.}

_{SAM called on the Yemeni parties and the international community to place citizens’ political and civil rights at the heart of any future peace process and to ensure that political settlements do not become merely a division of power among armed actors at the expense of society. It also stressed the need to expand the participation of women, young people, civil society, victims, and human rights defenders in shaping the country’s future.}

_{The organization concluded by stressing that the victory Yemen needs is not the victory of one group over another, but the victory of the state over militia rule, citizenship over hereditary privilege, politics over weapons, and freedom over coercion. After many years in which armed force has determined the fate of Yemenis, the right to choose those who govern them, hold them accountable, and replace them peacefully must be returned to the people.}