* Yemen parliament postpones polls a year to 2011 * Move follows govt, opposition deal on election reform SANAA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Yemen's parliament voted on Thursday to delay this year's parliamentary elections to 2011, to allow time to implement a deal on electoral reform reached by the ruling and opposition parties, parliamentary sources said. A large majority approved a constitutional amendment to allow the delay from April this year to April 2011. A further vote to ratify the proposal is required in 60 days time. Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told the U.N. General Assembly in September that Yemen would allow international monitors to observe the elections to ensure their fairness. But opposition parties held protest rallies last November against what they said were government efforts to manipulate the planned vote, which they threatened to boycott. Opposition Islamists, socialists and Arab nationalists this week agreed with President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling People's Congress party on changes to the electoral system. The deal would take further time to discuss and implement, explaining the delay to the elections, said opposition coalition leader Sultan Hizam. Parliamentary elections were last held in 2003 after an earlier delay in 2007 also involving a constitutional amendment. Poverty and unemployment is fuelling discontent in the country of 22 million people, one of the poorest outside Africa. It is also facing a rebellion in northern provinces. The opposition boycotted a vote for provincial governors last year and complained that a 2006 presidential vote which confirmed Saleh in power was rigged. EU observers said those polls were "genuine" despite some breaches. Yemen is the ancestral home of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and has cracked down on militants. It cooperated closely with Washington after the Sept. 11 attacks and al Qaeda attacks at home, including the bombing of a U.S. warship in 2000. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; writing by Andrew Hammond; editing by Jon Boyle)
