SANAA: Nobel peace laureate Tawakkul Karman hailed on Tuesday's polls in which Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi will replace outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh as a "day of celebration" for Yemenis, as she cast her ballot.
"This is a day of celebration for Yemenis because it is the day of Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure that will put an end to despotism and oppression" that has marked his 33 years as the leader of Yemen, Karman told AFP.
Yemenis are voting Tuesday in referendum-like elections in which Hadi, Saleh's deputy, stands as a sole consensus candidate, based on a Gulf-brokered power transfer deal the outgoing president signed in November, bowing to months of domestic protests and international pressures.
"We urge the new president to work for young people who took to the streets a year ago," Karman said. "If their goals are not achieved, Yemen's youths will force him out just as they had overthrown Saleh."
Karman spoke as she cast her ballot at the women's section in a polling station located in Change Square, the epicentre of anti-regime protests where youths have camped for a year demanding Saleh's ouster.
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