Union of Popular Forces

The Union of Popular Forces (Arabic: اتحاد القوي الشعبية, Ittiḥād al-Quwa ash-Sha'abiyah), sometimes also written as Union of Yemeni Popular Forces or Federation of Popular Forces is a liberal Zaydi Shi'a political party in Yemen. It was founded in 1961[1] and has been characterized as a small party of Zaydi intellectuals.[2] Like the Islamist Hizb al-Haqq, it has been founded by Sayyids, which are members of the traditional elite of the country's north who claimed descent from the family of prophet Muhammad.[3]

Union of Popular Forces
اتحاد القوي الشعبية
AbbreviationUPF
General SecretaryAbdussalam Razzaz
Founded1961
HeadquartersSana'a
NewspaperSawt ash-Shurah
IdeologyLiberalism
Islamic modernism
Arab nationalism
Political positionCenter-left
Colours  Dark green
House of Representatives
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The Party's founder and leader was Ibrahim al-Wazir, who has also been active as a cleric since the 1940s.[4] Al-Wazir was an influential contemporary Islamic intellectual who had published dozens of books over his life, during some of which he lived in the diaspora. During his period in Egypt, he had contact with intellectuals such as the Islamist thinker Sayyid Qutb, the liberal trade unionist Gamal al-Banna and the Islamic modernist Mohammed al-Ghazali, which influenced his worldview.[1]

In summer 1995, the party's office in the Sana'a was attacked and destroyed by the security police.[4] In November 2005, it was a founding member of the opposition alliance Joint Meeting Parties. In July 2006, it backed the alliance's presidential candidate Faysal bin Shamlan in the presidential election.[5]

The party's general secretary Ibrahim al-Wazir died on 28 June 2014 in a hospital in London.[1] Muhammad Abdurrahman ar-Ruba'i, the party's next general secretary, died on 8 June 2019 after a long time of illness. [6] The current general secretary is Abdussalam Razzaz.[7]

Positions

The party has been described as a Zaydi Shi'a liberal party. Furthermore, it defined itself as anti-monarchist, particularly during the early days of the republic and supported democracy, self-government, freedom and a participatory system. The party's leader al-Wazir was strongly influenced by Islamic modernist as well as trade unionist thinkers and advocated for a modernization of Zaydi doctrine.[1] In its program, the party is advocating for Islamic democracy and Arab nationalist ideas. [8]

The party opposes the Houthi movement, considering its takeover as return of the monarchy of the Imamate it opposed and accuses the Houthis of Iranian backing. It supports the national struggle against the Houthis and calls for the reestablishment of legitimacy, as well as the creation of a federal democratic state.[7]

Electoral results
Election year # of total votes % of overall vote # of seats
House of Representatives
1993 2,662 0.12%[9]
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2003 11,967 0.20%[10]
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See also

References
  1. Staff member (29 June 2014). "اتحاد القوى الشعبية ينعي ابراهيم بن علي الوزير". al-Wahdawi. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. Durac, Vincent (December 2011). "The Joint Meeting Parties and the Politics of Opposition in Yemen". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 38 (3): 354. doi:10.1080/13530194.2011.621697. JSTOR 23264244. S2CID 145152610. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  3. Schmitz, Charles (28 February 2015). "The rise of Yemen's Houthi rebels". BBC. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  4. Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (1 November 1995). "Yemen: Information on the "Unification Movement" (also called the "Movement for Labour and Unification" or "Labour Unification Movement") and its relationship to al-Haqq, and on the involvement of Ibrahim al-Wazir to either organization". Refworld. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  5. Browers, Michaelle (November 2007). "Origins and Architects of Yemen's Joint Meeting Parties". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 39 (4): 565–586. doi:10.1017/S0020743807071085. JSTOR 30069488. S2CID 162753346. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  6. Staff member (8 June 2019). "وفاة أمين عام اتحاد القوى الشعبية بعد صراع مع المرض". al-Mawqea. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  7. Staff member (12 September 2021). "أمين عام اتحاد القوى الشعبية مهنئاً بذكرى التأسيس.. الإصلاح قدم التضحيات وما يزال دفاعًا عن الجمهورية والتوافق الوطني". Al Islah-Ye. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  8. "Party's program and history". Sawt Shoura Online. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  9. Staff member. "Yemen: 1993 parliamentary election". al-Bab. Archived from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  10. Staff member. "نتائج الانتخابات البرلمانية 2003م". Yemen-NIC. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
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