SANA, Yemen — As Yemen entered a new political era in which Ali Abdullah Saleh no longer ruled, antigovernment protesters nonetheless remained on the streets in the thousands, still unsatisfied with the state of affairs.

“We closed this chapter of the past 33 years,” said Nadia Abdullah, a 27-year-old M.B.A. student. “This is part of our first goal. But there is Ahmed, there is Yahya,” she said, naming relatives of Mr. Saleh who still control major divisions of Yemen’s armed forces.

Over the past year, Yemen’s protesters built a permanent sit-in site in Sana, the capital, creating a vast city of blue and green tents in front of Sana University. With Mr. Saleh’s ouster as their chief demand, the protesters withstood bloody attacks from government forces, rainstorms and internal fighting.

Then last week, as part of a power-transfer deal, Yemenis took part in early presidential elections, voting in Mr. Saleh’s former deputy, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the only candidate on the ballot. All at once, Mr. Saleh became the former president of Yemen.