Yemenis have been voting in the country's first-ever direct presidential election.

Yemen's current president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, is widely expected to win against his sole challenger, little-known Najib al-Sha'abi, from his own party.

The vote - unprecedented on the Arabian peninsula - has taken place amid heavy security and was watched by international observers.

Polling booths have been packed and an eery calm has descended over Yemen's mountain capital of Sana'a. Away from the polling booths, almost the only people on the streets are cab drivers and soldiers.

Voters have been unable to back the main opposition party

But the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), the main opposition group which was not allowed to present a candidate, has called the vote a sham.

The 301-seat parliament in which President Saleh's General Peoples' Congress (GPC) holds 226 seats, screened prospective candidates for the presidential election and rejected the sole opposition nominee.

Although local journalists expect President Saleh to win around 90% of the vote, they believe that the issues thrown up by these elections will change life for the better, with promises of much-needed reforms coming from both candidates.

President Saleh ruled former North Yemen from 1978 until its unification with the south in 1990.

Anti-corruption pledge

He has remained president of the united Yemen since then, winning a brief and bloody civil war against the south in 1994.

With Yemen's oil reserves dwarfed by those of its Gulf neighbours, the country is one of the poorest in the Arab world.

Unemployment is running at over 30%, while the country's economy is hamstrung by a cumbersome bureaucracy.

Both presidential candidates have promised to tackle these problems.

But al-Sha'abi has gone one step further. He has vowed to attack corruption, even calling for corrupt government officials to be brought to account.