The Politics of Yemen are in an uncertain state due to the Houthi takeover in Yemen. An armed group known as the Houthis or Ansar Allah seized control of the Northern Yemeni government and announced it would dissolve parliament, as well as install a "presidential council", "transitional national council", and "supreme revolutionary council" to govern the country for an interim period. However, the deposed president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, has declared he is still in office and is working to establish a rival government in Aden. Prior to the coup, Yemen's politics nominally took place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, where the President of Yemen was the head of state, while the Prime Minister of Yemen, who was appointed by the President, was the head of government. Although it was notionally a multi-party system, in reality it was completely dominated by one party, the General People's Congress, and had been since unification. Executive power was exercised by the President and the Government. Legislative power was vested in both the Government and the House of Representatives. The Judiciary was theoretically independent, but in reality it was prone to interference from the executive branch. Yemen was a republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the constitution, an elected president, an elected 301-seat House of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura Council share power. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by Parliament; the prime minister is appointed by the president. The presidential term of office is 7 years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is 6 years. Suffrage is universal over 18. Political background For hundreds of years Yemen was ruled by imams who had absolute powers on the political process in the country. The imams of Yemen and later the Kings of Yemen were religiously consecrated leaders belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and secular rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their imamate endured under varying circumstances until the republican revolution in 1962. Zaidiyyah theology differed from Ismailis or Twelver Shi'ites by stressing the presence of an active and visible imam as leader. This came to an end with the assassination of Imam Yehia. His son, Imam Badr succeeded him but the political situation deteriorated