Yemen accepts foreign monitors for April poll

Yemen opposition says by passing poll amendment unilaterally, Saleh's allies 'put an end' to national dialogue.

Middle East Online

Salah was accused of seeking to put pressure on the opposition ADEN - Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Sunday set April 27 for parliamentary elections that will be held in the presence of international monitors, and also urged the opposition to take part. On December 14, Saleh's ruling General People's Congress (GPC) said the poll would go ahead in April with or without an opposition boycott over an amendment to the electoral law. "We accept foreign observers, and also reiterate our call to our brothers in the parties of the 'Common Front' to take an active part in the poll and not to quibble over trivia," Saleh said in a speech in the southern port of Aden. The official Saba news agency quoted him as "unreservedly" inviting non-government groups "from Yemen and brotherly and friendly countries to monitor the election." Parliament's approval on December 11 of an electoral law amendment sparked an opposition sit-in and charges that the GPC had violated a 2009 accord to open dialogue on political reforms. The amendment, originally proposed along with other political reforms in 2009, was passed by a parliament heavily dominated by members and allies of Saleh's party. It stipulated that the high electoral commission be composed of judges rather than delegates from parties represented in parliament, as was previously the case. The opposition said that by passing the amendment unilaterally, Saleh's allies had "put an end to the national dialogue." The mandate of the current parliament was extended by two years to April 2011 following the February 2009 agreement between the GPC and opposition parties to allow dialogue on political reform. Reforms that were to be discussed included a shift from a presidential regime to a proportional representation parliamentary system and further decentralisation of government -- measures that have not been implemented. The opposition, which includes the Islamist Al-Islah (Reform) Party, the Yemeni Socialist Party and other smaller factions, said the passing of the amendment was "a conspiracy" against the 2009 accord. On Sunday, Al-Islah MP Insaf Mayyo accused Saleh of seeking to "put pressure on the 'Common Front'," by launching the GPC's electoral campaign. The grouping "has a programme of street demonstrations in the provinces to reject all anti-constitutional and unilateral measures by the ruling party," Mayyo said without going into further detail. Yemen opposition leader quizzed over alleged separatist ties Yemen's prosecutor general on Sunday quizzed a Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) opposition leader on his alleged support for southern separatists, the suspect Mohammed Ghaleb Ahmed said. Ahmed said by telephone that he was summoned by the attorney general who asked him about his role in funding southern activists who allegedly "sabotaged" last month's Gulf Cup football tournament hosted by Yemen. The state news agency Saba confirmed on its website that Ahmed, a member of the YSP's political bureau, had been pulled in for questioning after incriminating statements made by a southern activist who is under arrest. According to the report, Taher Tammah, a leader of the Southern Movement which is spearheading opposition to the Sanaa government, has said that the YSP allegedly offered 50,000 dollars "to sabotage" the November tournament. The financial offer was allegedly made by Ahmed, Saba.net reported. The November 22-December 5 Gulf Cup football tournament was staged under tight security after the Southern Movement vowed to try to disrupt the tournament. Ahead of the contest, the authorities arrested a number activists from the Southern Movement which has been agitating for independence or increased autonomy for the south. Yemen's Socialist Party, which ruled former South Yemen before unification in 1990, has so far refrained from openly supporting the uprising in the country's south. South Yemen, where many residents complain of discrimination in the Sanaa government's allocation of resources, was independent from the 1967 British withdrawal from Aden until the region united with the north in 1990. The south seceded in 1994, sparking a short-lived civil war that ended with it being overrun by northern troops. Meanwhile, six people were injured in separate incidents on Saturday in the south, including two soldiers wounded in clashes with Southern Movement militants, officials and medics said. Southern militants also freed an army officer they had kidnapped for a week, local officials said.