An initiative for political reform announced last week by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, boycotted by the three main opposition parties, has sparked various reactions among politicians, writes Nasser Arrabyee The supporters labelled the initiative as a "revolution" for strong and genuine democracy while the opposition considered it a scheme to avoid dealing with the current political crisis. Other politicians consider it a "trick" to allow another term in office for Saleh, whose present term ends in 2013. The initiative, which requires constitutional amendments, calls for a presidential system, similar to the American system, two elected chambers (upper and lower) for parliament, local governance with full powers, and a 15 per cent quota for women in parliament. Opposition politicians say the initiative came only to reduce the pressure on the regime and to absorb the anger of the people who are suffering from inflation and economic hardship. "The initiative is to solve the problems of the president not the problems of the people," said Mohamed Qahtan, an outspoken Islamist politician in the opposition alliance, known as the Joint Meeting Parties (JMPs), which include Islamists, Socialists, and Nasserists. "The objective of this initiative is to renew Saleh's term. To create two new terms, five years each, and when this is over, there will be new amendments of the constitution, and so on and so forth," Qahtan told a demonstration by JMPs supporters in Dhammar province, 100km south of the capital Sanaa. If the expected amendments are passed and approved by a referendum, it would be the third time since 1994. The last two amendments were in favour of expanding the powers of President Saleh, who has been in office for 29 years now. "The regime does not realise that Yemen has changed a lot; it still thinks with a tribal mentality at the expense of the homeland," Qahtan said. The prime minister's post will be cancelled in favour of a fully presidential system, instead of the current system which is a mixture of presidential and parliamentary. The presidential term will be five years instead of seven years. The terms of both parliamentary chambers (upper and lower) will be four years instead of six. The upper chamber of parliament (Shura Council) will be elected from all provinces equally, instead of being appointed as the case now. The president will choose seven judges from among 14 judges nominated by the country's supreme judicial council to run the election processes. Heads of the provinces and districts will be directly elected rather than being appointed. A total of 15 per cent of the 301-seat House of Representatives will be allocated for women as a quota system. The opposition, which calls for a parliamentary system, argues that any reforms must begin with political reforms and political reforms must begin with electoral reforms. In their first formal response to the initiative, the three-party opposition alliance said in a statement a week after President Saleh announced his initiative," the initiative is an escape from providing solutions to the demands of the people of the southern provinces and to the rise of prices, unemployment, poverty and corruption." The opposition's statement referred to the demonstrations and marches which have been taking place in the southern provinces since last May demanding what they called "equal citizenship". While the opposition parties reject the initiative, the state-run media and those loyal to the ruling party have highly praised it as the solution to all problems, while hurling accusations of conspiracy and treason at the opposition. The presidential office said that President Saleh would meet 1,200 representatives from 400 civil society organisations 11 October to brief them on his new initiative instead of the political parties who did not welcome the proposal. Saif Al-Asali, the former minister of finance, supports the proposal: "the initiative is very timely, it has come on time, not because it will undermine the JMPs but because it aims to develop the Yemeni political system," Al-Asali said. "If the opposition was genuine and honest it would not refuse dialogue." Ahmed Al-Sufi, chairman of the Yemeni Institute for Development of Democracy, sees that the initiative would free the nation of partisan and narrow thinking and would lead to stronger democracy. "The JMPs refused the initiative for three reasons: the JMPs think they dominate the street and this is an overestimation. They do not want the other parties to participate in the dialogue; they think the opposition is only them, and this is wrong. The third reason is that the JMPs no longer make their own decisions; their decisions are made from outside Yemen. Those outside may use the JMPs but they will never share power with them."
