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THE ballots in the Yemeni presidential election offered only one choice. Next to a picture of the preordained victor, they also bore his campaign slogan, “Together we build the future”. How could it be that after 12 gruelling and often bloody months of protests demanding freedom and democracy, citizens could cheerfully condone such an electoral farce?Voters’ enthusiasm on February 21st had little to do with the personal appeal of the sole candidate, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a 66-year-old former general and quietly long-serving vice-president. Rather it was an expression of relief. By endorsing Mr Hadi, they were stamping a satisfying final seal on the exit of his former boss, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a wily dictator whose 33-year rule had culminated in corruption, nepotism and violence. The vote seems set to suspend a perilous standoff between well-armed and bitterly opposed factions that has ruinously persisted since last February, leaving at least 200 dead, decimating the fragile economy and pushing Yemen to the brink of civil war.The election marks the first phase of a transition, sponsored by rich Gulf states and backed by Western donors, that Mr Saleh finally agreed to in November after more than six months of stalling. It calls for Mr Hadi, who served as the president’s deputy for 18 years, to serve as head of state for two years, presiding over a cabinet equally divided...