Yemeni president won't quit until successor elected, says aide

SANAA, Yemen - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will not resign until a presidential election is held to elect a new leader for the country, Saleh's press secretary Ahmed al-Soufi told Xinhua.

"President Saleh is the legitimate leader of Yemen and he will not resign until a new president is elected through an early presidential election," al-Soufi said.

"Saleh's decree to authorize his deputy was only about resuming dialogue with the leaders of the opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) in order to set a timetable and mechanism to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative," said al-Soufi in Sanaa.