In the face of the growing discontent and general instability in Yemen, the president has stated that he will once again delay the parliamentary election (already postponed from 2009). The government's inability to reach an accord with the opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), over the composition of the electoral commission had prompted the JMP to say it would boycott the polls. With mass protests already spreading across the country, the government clearly deemed that proceeding with the election would be both provocative and impractical. However, the repeated election delays not only highlight the present weakness of the government, but also threaten to erode its legitimacy. In reality, we do not expect the election to go ahead until the present disorder has died down, but it is feasible that the protests will persist as long as Mr Saleh remains in power.