Yemen President Ali Saleh announces plan to retire in Jan. 2012

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh will leave office after organizing congress elections by January 2012, refusing to hand over power without knowing who would succeed him, an aide said on Tuesday.

"President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he will hand over power through (parliamentary) elections and the formation of democratic institutions at the end of 2011 or January 2012," Saleh's media secretary Ahmed al-Sufi told Reuters.

"Ali Abdullah Saleh does not seek power. Ali Abdullah Saleh will not leave without knowing who he is handing over to."

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