Islah Still Undecided on the Amendments Expected Surprise in Local Council Elections [Archives:2001/05/Local News]

Observers believe that developments taking place in preparation for the local council elections may lead to a surprise in the overall results. It is not quite clear to what extent Islah, the second largest party, will be present in many southern and eastern areas, which may provide an opportunity for the parties of the Opposition Supreme Coordination Council (OSCC) to take over. Observers claim that many of the citizens in the eastern and southern regions of the country have decided to support the opposition’s united stand regarding the constitutional amendments and the elections and that many of them have lost hope in the PGC and that this may lead to a surprise win for the YSP and the other opposition parties who are still participating in the elections.
“We are motivated further by these assessments” a YSP official told Yemen Times.
In regard to the constitutional amendments, the divided position of Islah as to whether to support the amendments or not, has further weakened its position . “There is an internal dispute within the party and I believe that we will not reach a conclusion until next week,” a leading Islah figure said.
It is interesting to note however that the members of the national opposition council have stated that they would boycott the local council elections, and say “NO” to constitutional amendments. This is expected to have little effect on the decision of the OSCC, which agreed earlier to come out with a common strategy and cooperate in nominating candidates from their parties, or independent individuals closest to their parties’ ideologies. “It is time for us to coordinate and work together for the sake of our parties and the people,” said Jarallah Omar, the second man in the YSP, the leading party of the OSCC.
A surprise win in the local council elections for opposition parties in southern and eastern areas could be devastating for the Islah party, and could in the long run be a potential threat to the ruling party, analysts conclude.

——
[archive-e:05-v:2001-y:2001-d:2001-01-29-p:./2001/iss05/ln.htm]