as well as against the government's proposals to modify the constitution of Yemen. The protestors' demands then escalated to calls for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign. The situation however quickly deteriorated into a widescale uprising, with various insurgency campaigns consolidating into armed struggles, both between the armed opposition and terror groups vs. the government and among themselves. Eventually a Saudi-brokered agreement on Saleh's resignation and 2012 Presidential election saw the installation of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi as an interim President. Hadi has been presiding over political reform and national reconciliation and was supposed to serve only two years in the post. In November 2013 U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar told The Associated Press Hadi will remain president after February 2014 because the transition is not likely to be completed earlier due to "obstruction" from former regime loyalists. Houthi insurgency In northern Yemen, where a large Shi’a Zaydi population lives, Saleh's regime has for decades alienated this community through religious and political policies. Saleh, with the help of some elements in Saudi Arabia, had promoted strongly anti-Zaydi groups of Salafi Muslims in this region. Zaydis organized themselves politically in the early 2000s under the aegis of a family of religious scholars called the Houthis. They began by criticizing Saleh's pro-U.S. policies, which led to armed confrontation and a series of wars with the Yemeni army. This ultimately dragged the Saudi Arabian military into the fray, leading to considerable property destruction and a large refugee problem. In 2011, as Saleh's power waned in the provinces as a result of the uprising against him, the Houthis took control over large areas of the north, but still remain outside the political framework of government. Executive branch Under the Constitution, the President is elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term. The vice-president, prime minister and deputy prime ministers are appointed by the President. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the President on the advice of the prime minister. Leadership in Aden: |Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council |Rashad al-Alimi |General People's Congress |7 April 2022 |- |Prime Minister |Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed |General People's Congress |15 October 2018 |} Leadership in Sana'a: | | | | |- | | | | |} Legislative branch The Assembly of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwaab) has 301 members, elected for a six-year term in single-seat constituencies. In May 1997, the president created a Consultative Council, sometimes referred to