The Yemeni Presidential Council Raises Controversy

عربي

Since Thursday dawn, the North and South Yemeni streets have been hustled with a decision to establish a Presidential Council to replace President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The Council will be led by former Interior Minister and Hadi's Adviser Rashad Al-Alimi and with memberships of figures who belong to the STC including the STC President Aidrous Al-Zubaidi. It also includes Commander of the Southern Giants Forces Abdulrahman Al-Muharrami, the Islah-loyal Yemeni President Office Director Abdullah Al-Alimi, and Hadramout Governor Faraj Al-Bahsani. As for North, the appointments include Tariq Saleh, Commander of the Resistance Forces, Othman Megali, and Sultan Al-Arada.

The local street received these decisions with variable reactions between supporters and opponents while some deem it as a big a significant move following big divisions that could have destroyed the anti-Houthi forces.

Writer and Political Analyst Dr. Mohammed Jumaih tweeted: "This Council and the new leadership serve as a balance and a representative of the active forces on the ground. The Council is proof that the solution in Yemen is an Arabian one and that internationalizing the crises led to complicating it more."

Journalist Majed Al-Daeri claims that what happened is a "comprehensive constitutional coup" that paves the way for incoming overwhelming chaos that could hit everyone. He claimed that "deposing Hadi was a Houthi precondition on the KSA during the Muscat Negotiations to accept peace, and stop their attacks".

For her part, activist Wamid Shaker believes that "constitutionally, the position of the President is still existing. Hadi is still the President of the Yemeni Republic unless elections are held or he is being sacked by the House of Representatives". She indicated that “ There is still an opportunity to reverse the decision under the constitution and its power as happened when Hadi got back off his resignation."

The Minister of Information advisor Fahd Al-Sharafi described those decisions as being an "important settlement" adding that the Riyadh Consultations produced an outcome which was unexpected by many people who kept mocking this big event.

Southern activist Ahmed Al-Saleh described the outcomes of the Yemeni-Yemeni Consultations as  “historical and well-timed”.

The Houthis mocked the declaration describing it as "a play".

In a TV interview, senior Houthi official Mohammed Al-Bakhiti accused the Chairman of the “Presidential Council” of being the “USA’s man in Yemen”.

The decision to establish a Presidential Council has been widely welcomed at regional and international levels. US Secretary of State, EU, France, and Japan welcomed the move. Moreover, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, the KSA, and the UAE praised the newly-formed Council. The Arab League, GCC, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Arab Parliament hailed the step.

The international community is looking forward that this decision could strengthen the truce and lead to a comprehensive political settlement, especially since the Presidential Council is supposed to make negotiations with the Houthis to reach an all-out peace according to the articles of the declaration.

In a Twitter poll by "South24", over 65% of participants expressed their support of the new President Council while 14.7% renounced it.

In South, the reservations raised by some people about the Presidential Council stem from the previous similar Southern experiences before and after 1990 which mostly failed and led to new wars.

Journalist Al-Daeri and Southern activists criticized the appointment of the STC President as being part of the new Council. They fear that the new position could impact his wide popularity in South Yemen.