Pressures force Parliament to retain former board [Archives:2006/921/Front Page]
February 16 2006
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SANA'A, Feb. 15 ) Parliament re-elected its former board Wednesday with Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar its speaker, though he was absent from the session and did not request nomination. A majority of MPs claimed the new bylaw stipulates these conditions, reversing expectations related to its board.
Last Monday, the ruling party bloc elected Sakhr Al-Wajeeh and Mohamed Ali Al-Shadadi to the Parliamentary board, but pressure from President Saleh on Tuesday helped Ja'afer Ba Saleh, Dr. Abdulwahab Mahmoud and Yahya Al-Ra'ee retain their board posts.
MPs attending Parliament's last session said Al-Ahmar won 241 of 273 total votes, Al-Ra'ee won 197, Mahmoud won 173 and Ba Saleh won 167, while loser Al-Wajeeh came in last with 125 votes.
Ruling party internal voting resulted in Al-Ra'ee's win with 143 votes, 104 for Al-Wajeeh, 101 for Al-Shadadi, 97 for Mahmoud and 70 for Ba Saleh.
Pressure forced Al-Shadadi to withdraw from the candidate list Wednesday morning, while Al-Wajeeh's insistence caused him to lose only in the voting.
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Nothing changed in Parliament except a bylaw amendment stipulating Parliament's board be elected every two years, Head of the Nasserite Parliamentary Bloc, Sultan Al-Atwani, said in a statement. Parliament realized it was necessary to re-elect its board, as the bylaw had been put into effect. According to Al-Atwani, the voting result was anticipated beforehand, as it appeared in harmony with higher directives but not the will of MPs.
MP Ali Al-Mamari said the presence of other blocs inside Parliament was the primary motive forcing blocs not to re-nominate those elected in the internal vote.
Sources said the elections took place publicly, pressuring MPs to re-elect former board members. As many as 28 vote cards noted ironic comments and contained names of MPs who were not candidates.
Al-Atwani protested recently appointed Aden Governor Ahmad Al-Kuhlani's presence in the session and his involvement in the vote. During the session, Al-Atwani said Al-Kuhlani uttered the constitutional oath to serve as governor, after which he had no right to take part in the vote.
Yesterday's vote in its form was perceived to be in favor of Al-Ahmar, who was elected in his absence and without a bid for candidacy.
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