Yemen to Hold Presidential Vote on Feb 21

Yemen is to hold a snap presidential election on February 21 in keeping with an accord which led to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's resignation, his deputy said in a decree published on Saturday.

Vice President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, to whom Saleh has handed over power under the Gulf-mediated accord, signed the decree which brings forward the election that had initially been due to take place in 2013.

The early poll follows a 90-day transition period which kicked off with the signing of the power transfer deal in Riyadh last Wednesday following several months of deadly anti-regime protests in Yemen.

The accord called for Saleh, in return for immunity from prosecution, to hand all "necessary constitutional powers" to his deputy with immediate effect and to hold office on an honorary basis only for the 90-day period.

A bloody crackdown on anti-Saleh demonstrations across Yemen since January has left hundreds of people dead.