He ran as an Independent, despite being a member of the General People's Congress, against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
[5] Shaabi was born in 1953 in Shaab, a village in Tur Al Bahah district, Lahij Governorate.
[2] Shaabi later moved to Egypt and enrolled in Cairo University, graduating from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences in 1976.
He continued within the same faculty, attaining a master's degree and enrolling for a Ph.D by 1983 before returning to Yemen.
He supported the Yemeni government during the civil war of 1994, receiving the Unity Medal for his dedication.