SANAA, Yemen, May 8 (UPI) -- Yemen's ruling General Congress Party has accused an opposition group of fund-raising for the upcoming elections under the cover of supporting Hamas.
The party's mouthpiece, al-Muutamar, said Monday the women's section of the opposition Yemeni Gathering for Reforms launched a fund-raising campaign in female circles to collect money for the party's electoral campaign.
The party newspaper quoted well-informed sources as saying that the campaign was started in the provinces of Taaz, Aden and Hadida as a first step by female activists who claimed that the money was aimed at supporting the Hamas-led Palestinian government, which is has seen a cessation of international aid.
The accusations coincide with a state of confusion on the Yemeni political scene as the September election date draws closer following President Ali Abdullah Saleh's announcement that he will not run for another term.
The ruling party charged that "the campaign succeeded so far in collecting big amounts of money in addition to precious jewelry donated by Yemeni women in view of the position the Palestinian cause held in the hearts of the Yemeni people which was exploited by the Yemeni Gathering for Reforms Party to finance its election campaign."
The fund-raising coincided with another type of campaign: that of mosque preachers to mobilize support for the opposition party, "which reached in some instances the point of provoking the people against the General Congress Party in addition to collecting funds under the pretext of supporting Hamas," the sources said.
The Yemeni government last month banned private fund-raising campaigns, restricting them within the framework of the administration in order to organize the process of collecting donations for the Palestinian people through four accounts.
