Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Hundreds of voters flowed into Sanaa's old town section Tuesday to cast ballots to replace Yemen's longtime ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
While the election is short on candidates -- only Vice President Abdurabu Mansur Hadi, who took over when Saleh stepped down in November after months of protests, is on the ballot -- it appeared to be long on hope.
"It's the first time people in Yemen are electing somebody on their own, without being influenced by political parties," said Mohammed al-Rowdy, a voter who works with the Interior Ministry. "This is a people's election. That's why we are optimistic things will get better."
Officials in Sanaa described a successful effort Tuesday, but conditions in the southern port city of Aden were different. Four people were killed in clashes between gunmen and security forces, according to two senior security officials in the city.
Another 14 people were injured and were being treated at a hospital, security officials said.
Some gunfire was heard in several districts in Aden.
But there were no signs of such problems at a voting site in Sanaa, the At Altabari school -- one of the oldest in the capital -- as voters of all ages streamed in.
They left with ink on their fingers and thumbs, proof of their participation in a historic election that signifies the formal end of Saleh's 33-year reign.
European observers said early turnout was healthier than expected.
"I was particularly very impressed in seeing the women turning out," said Michele Cervone d'Urso, European Union ambassador to Yemen, who was observing the polling station. "The women are the key for this county, for sedating this country," he said in reference to the need to calm conditions there. "They have to be recognized as a key part of society."
Security around Sanaa and elsewhere was tight Tuesday.
Around the capital, posters of Hadi has replaced images of Saleh.
"A New President for a New Yemen," read a large banner hanging from Change Square, which had been the epicenter of the anti-government movement last year.
Some who took part in the protests said they were not particularly excited about Tuesday's vote.
"Maybe you can call them elections," Nadia Abdullah said. "But for me, elections should have more than one candidate."
Abdullah said she would stand by Hadi as long as he made good on his promises.
"If he goes through with it, we will stand hand in hand with him," she said. "If he doesn't, or if we see a lot of game-playing between him and the government, I believe the youth will remain in the squares. They would say, 'Leave,' as they did to Ali Abdullah Saleh."
Abullah al-Saidi, 27, an accountant who volunteered as an election observer, told CNN he voted against Hadi by putting an "X" next to the name instead of a check. He said he believes many people do not realize they have the option of voting against the vice president.
"He is old school -- I don't believe he will change a lot," al-Saidi said of Hadi.
D'Urso said the elections are not "simply for vice president Hadi. These are the elections for process, a different Yemen. And you can see Yemenis want to move to a different type of society, one of co-existence and tolerance. It's not going to be easy. I think transition in this country will probably take a generation, but I think we are moving forward, and we have kicked off in the right way today, at least here in Sanaa."
Human Rights Watch called on Hadi to make clear changes right away.
"Yemen's potentially historic transition will be off to shaky start unless Hadi makes an immediate break with the abuses of the past," said Letta Tayler, Yemen researcher for the organization. "Yemen's new leader needs to move decisively to usher in promised reforms that uphold human rights and the rule of law."
The 65-year-old Hadi is a British-, Egyptian- and Soviet-trained army officer, recently promoted to the rank of field marshal. He has been vice president since 1994 and is running for a two-year term as president on pledges of improving security and creating more jobs.
But he's never had much of a power base of his own, and Yemen's problems will take much longer to fix than the two-year mandate he's expected to receive. It's the poorest country in the Middle East, with a severe shortage of water and rising levels of malnutrition among its population of about 25 million.
Even before last year's upheaval, Saleh faced a separatist movement in the south, sectarian tensions in its north and the growing presence of what Western officials describe as al Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
For some, particularly in the once-independent south, Hadi is too closely tied to Saleh's rule to represent any change.
"Why do people expect southerners to celebrate that Saleh is gone?" said Mohammed Mosed Okla, a prominent separatist leader in Aden. "His regime is still in control, and his family still controls all the major security factions in the country. We will not be tricked again, and southerners will not celebrate until complete change takes place in south Yemen."
Hussein al-Aqil, a professor at Aden University and another separatist leader, said Hadi watched as Saleh "oppressed us for more than two decades."
"I was imprisoned for three years because I expressed my opinion and rejected the corruption that Ali Saleh stood behind," al-Aqil said. "The old regime tortured me and made me suffer for years. Hadi is part of the old regime and will not be recognized as a southern leader."
Ahead of the vote, officials set up at least 10 new checkpoints in Aden. But only hours before polls opened, explosions rocked four separate neighborhoods late Monday. Security officials said no one was hurt.
Saleh handed over power to Hadi as part of a deal brokered by Persian Gulf states and will formally relinquish his office after Tuesday's vote. He is in the United States, officially for medical treatment for wounds suffered in a June assassination attempt at his presidential palace during street battles between government troops and tribal fighters.
The United States has been backing Yemeni efforts against al Qaeda and has periodically struck targets inside Yemen, as in the September drone strike that killed American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
Gerald Feierstein, U.S. ambassador to Yemen, said the transition laid out in the Gulf plan as well as efforts to boost the economy and deliver basic services will be critical "in terms of our ability to defeat al Qaeda and other violent extremist organizations in the country."
"All of these elements are going to help us defeat al Qaeda and eliminate them as a threat here in Yemen, to the region and to the world," Feierstein said.
Yemeni election committee members prepare ballot boxes in Sanaa on Monday, the eve of the country's presidential election
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