Sanaa , Yemen ( CNN ) -- Yemen holds a presidential election Tuesday with only one candidate on the ballot to replace longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh . Vice President Abdurabu Mansur Hadi took over Yemen 's government in November , when Saleh handed over power after months of protests . Though Hadi will be the only name on the ballot on Tuesday , he has insisted on standing for election to make his presidency official . Posters of Hadi with slogans such as `` A new president for a new Yemen '' have gradually replaced images of his predecessor . But some of those who took part in the protests that drove Saleh from power after 33 years say they 're not particularly excited about Tuesday 's vote . `` Maybe you can call them elections , '' said Nadia Abdullah , an activist in Change Square , the epicenter of the anti-Saleh movement . `` But for me , elections should have more than one candidate . '' The 65-year-old Hadi is a British- , Egyptian- and Soviet-trained army officer , recently promoted to the rank of field marshal . He has served as vice president since 1994 and is running for a two-year term as president on pledges of improving security and creating more jobs . But he 's never had much of a power base of his own , and Yemen 's problems will take much longer to fix than the two-year mandate he 's expected to receive . It 's the poorest country in the Middle East , with a severe shortage of water and rising levels of malnutrition among its population of about 25 million . Even before last year 's upheaval , Saleh faced a separatist movement in the south , sectarian tensions in its north and the growing presence of what Western officials describe as al Qaeda 's most dangerous affiliate , al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . For some , particularly in the once-independent south , Hadi is too closely tied to Saleh 's rule to represent any change . `` Why do people expect southerners to celebrate that Saleh is gone ? '' Mohammed Mosed Okla , a prominent separatist leader in the southern port of Aden , told CNN . `` His regime is still in control , and his family still control all the major security factions in the country . We will not be tricked again , and southerners will not celebrate until complete change takes place in south Yemen . '' There was heavy security in Aden for the vote , with at least 10 new checkpoints had been set up around the city . Explosions rocked four separate neighborhoods late Monday , with gunfire reported in one following the blast , but security officials told CNN that no injuries had been reported . Explosions reported ahead of Yemen vote . Hussein al-Aqil , a professor at Aden University and another separatist leader , said Hadi watched as Saleh `` oppressed us for more than two decades . '' `` I was imprisoned for three years because I expressed my opinion and rejected the corruption that Ali Saleh stood behind , '' al-Aqil said . `` The old regime tortured me and made me suffer for years . Hadi is part of the old regime , and will not be recognized as a southern leader . '' But in Sanaa , Abdullah says Yemen 's people are looking to Hadi to start the political reforms needed to save the country . `` If he goes through with it , we will stand hand-in-hand with him , '' she said . `` If he does n't , or if we see a lot of game-playing between him and the government , I believe the youth will remain in the squares . They would say , 'Leave , ' as they did to Ali Abdullah Saleh . '' Saleh handed over power to Hadi as part of a deal brokered by Persian Gulf states and will formally relinquish his office after Tuesday 's vote . He is now now seeking medical treatment in the United States for wounds suffered in a June assassination attempt at his presidential palace during weeks of street battles between government troops and tribal fighters . The United States , meanwhile , has been backing Yemeni efforts against al Qaeda and has periodically struck targets inside Yemen , as in the September drone strike that killed American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki . Gerald Feierstein , the U.S. ambassador to Yemen , told CNN that the transition laid out in the Gulf plan as well as efforts to boost the economy and deliver basic services will be critical `` in terms of our ability to defeat al Qaeda and other violent extremist organizations in the country . `` All of these elements are going to help us defeat al Qaeda and eliminate them as a threat here in Yemen , to the region and to the world , '' Feierstein said . But for patrons in one Sanaa cafe , a bit of normalcy would be welcome . One man said Hadi 's first objective should be to `` repair all the damage that was caused by the recent upheavals -- like the electricity crisis , like the gas crisis and all the crises in the country in general . '' Journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report for CNN .
Longtime leader Saleh 's vice president is the sole candidate on the ballot . Saleh handed over power to Hadi in November after months of protests . Activists say they 're looking to Hadi to start promised reforms . Comment: