Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has cancelled a trip to the United States, a senior official said on Wednesday, after requests from his ruling party that he remain in Yemen until after the presidential elections.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has cancelled a trip to the United States, a senior official said on Wednesday, after requests from his ruling party that he remain in Yemen until after the presidential elections.

In late December, Saleh, who is set to resign formally after the February polls in accordance with a Gulf-sponsored power transition plan, announced his intentions to travel to the US "in order to create favorable conditions... for the presidential election."

Deputy Information Minister Abdo al-Janadi told reporters on Wednesday that Saleh decided to cancel his trip after leading members of his General People's Congress party "pressured him not to travel... because the elections could not take place without him."

"This is what made the president decide not to leave," said Janadi, adding that there was "no truth to the news that there is a dispute between Washington and Sanaa over the president's trip."

A senior US official said last week that Saleh's office had informed the US embassy in Sanaa that the president wanted to go to the United States to seek "specialized medical treatment."

However, White House deputy spokesperson Josh Earnest said that US officials were still considering Saleh's request and no decision had been made, despite news reports to the contrary.

The Gulf Cooperation Council initiative, signed by Saleh in November after more than 10 months of mass anti-government protests, forced Saleh to hand power to his deputy, Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

The plan also gave Saleh and his closest aides and relatives immunity from prosecution for alleged crimes committed against Yemenis in the months of unrest that left hundreds of people dead and thousands more wounded.

It also allowed Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for more than 33 years, to retain the title of honorary president until he formally resigns after the elections.