 He was the recognized presidential candidate of the Yemeni opposition coalition, a coalition which consists of the Islamist Islah, the Yemen Socialist Party and several smaller parties, in the 2006 presidential election, but was defeated by incumbent president Ali Abdullah Saleh.Originally from Hadhramaut, Shamlan was educated in the elite Ghayl ba-Wazeer School [ġail bā wazīr], which was one of the best schools in Yemen and beyond at the time.He then got a scholarship to Sudan to further his education in Bakht al-Ridha Institute (bakht al-riḍa).