President Ali Abdullah Saleh has cancelled a trip to the United States, a senior official said on Wednesday, after requests from his ruling party that he remain in Yemen until after presidential elections. In late December, Saleh, who is set to resign formally after the February polls in accordance with a Gulf-sponsored power transition plan, announced his intentions to travel to the US "in order to create favourable conditions... for the presidential election."
Deputy Information Minister Abdo al-Janadi told reporters on Wednesday that Saleh decided to cancel his trip after leading members of his General People's Congress party "pressured him not to travel... because the elections could not take place without him." "This is what made the president decide not to leave," said Janadi, adding that there was "no truth to the news that there is a dispute between Washington and Sanaa over the president's trip."