Bicameral legislature in the United States of Yemen [Archives:2007/1109/Opinion]
By: Safa Abdussalam Karaman
The initiative that President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared on September 24, 2007 aroused numerous questions and created a verbal structural problem in the prevalent political mind. This problem came to existence as things are given names other than theirs, and this reminds us of the famous saying by Imam Mohammed Abdu that is “Allah puts his damnation on a politician running politics in the wrong way”.
The initiative, which suggested constitutional amendments with the aim of developing the political democratic system and replacing the local authority system by local governance, is merely an evident example of political misguidance covered by a superficial democratic program.
Having a look at the course of the national unity, starting with the Cairo Agreement on October 28, 1972 and ending with the most recent presidential initiative to amend the constitution made me, as a student in the Faculty of Law, criticize the fabricated means to falsify facts.
Mr. President gave us a kind of initiative assuming homogeneity between the Yemeni and American political mindedness by transforming the political system in the country into a fully presidential system. Adopting a full presidential system in Yemen is quite impossible because such a system entails separation between authorities. Employing the style of Dr. Haitham Mana'a, I raise two questions: 1) Is it possible to apply a full presidential system in the absence of real pluralism in the society and in our political and intellectual visions? 2) Isn't it necessary to have a real pluralism that doesn't restrict activities and efforts of the opposition?
A full presidential system can never be applied unless there is a real partisan plurality that makes the majority equal the half plus one, as well as makes competition and political dynamics between parties very active. There should be real negotiations between parties and actual conflict for obtaining supportive votes concerning any proposed amendments like what is working in the U.S. Congress.
A presidential system necessitates a bicameral legislature:
As long as the initiative proceeds on the path of the Boss (U.S.), a question will be raised about the Shoura Council's identity under a full presidential system. Will this council have powers similar to those devolved to the U.S. House of Senators? Paragraph Two in the First Article of the Constitution of the United States of America reads, “Only the House of Senators has the power to run trials of all parliamentary indictments. When President of the United States of America is standing trial, Chief Judge of the Supreme Court shall chair up the hearings.
Nobody may be convicted unless two-thirds of the attending members agree.” So, will the Shoura Council in Yemen run trials on parliamentary indictments? And if the trial is done, will the suspected member be convicted in case of votes by the overwhelming majority? Who is the independent Chief Judge of the Supreme Court to try Mr. President?
The Shoura Council has no powers while Parliament, amid the overwhelming majority, is merely a functional body for implementing will of the executive authority. At this point, we reached the highest level of shrewdness in emptying out content of the bicameral parliament's role by making this legislature a consultative authority for the executive, represented by Mr. President.
Under a full presidential system, the executive authority is not entitled to propose draft laws to Parliament, even when it comes to the Budget Law, which is the most important one among these laws. It is Parliament that prepares the state's general budget through its technical committees, as well as discusses and approves this budget. In his book entitled “Legitimate Policy in Reforming the Ruler and Ruled”, the Islamic Scholar Bin Taimeya (May Allah has mercy on him) argued that “Rule has two pillars: Power and honesty.
To be a member of Yemeni Parliament, you need to meet the requirement of honesty but power, which is represented by experience and knowledge, is not included. Mr. President, why do you condition honesty for any applicant for membership in parliament while your second requirement, which is power, necessitates only the ability to read and write?
In Yemen, the Country of Belief & Wisdom, one hardly finds any relation between theory and practicality of the presidential system, as well as between political reforms and the initiative recently declared by Mr. President. These are only fake tributes, which you Mr. President and your advisors suggested as the presidential system has nothing to do with this matter.
The United States of Yemen:
Having a deep glance at the so-called paragraphs contained in the initiative, recently declared by Mr. President, one can find that they are impossible to be applied in real-life situation unless there is a compound state not a simple one. At this point, it is necessary to make a distinction between forms of the regime and the state. Such an initiative is rather required to change the state from simple to compound: having a bicameral parliament.
Bicameralism means two chambers, the first of which is Parliament whose members are equal in number to the government agencies. And, the second is the Shoura Council where all the governorates must have equal representation regardless of their areas and population density. Instinctively, Parliament represents people while the Shoura Council does represent the states.
With regard to replacing local authority by local governance, I refer here to Dr. Dael Al-Mekhlafi's book (Administrative Decentralization), one of the subjects being taught in the Faculty of Law. The book states that “Local governance can only be built in the compound state the authorities of which are distributed over the central union state and the government consisting of several states with each state having its own legislature, executive and judicature. On the other hand, the simple state has a unified government without any division except in the administrative function while the legislative and judicial jobs remain at the hands of the central government. So, the simple authority has only a local administration.
The detestable exploitation of the prevalent political illiteracy and emptying out the core meaning of what is available at the hands of others is merely a vision for the political elite. This helps widen the gape between the rulers and ruled, as well as enhance the logic of totalitarianism at the expense of the logic of democracy and the republican government.
In fact, Yemen doesn't need any constitutional amendments, nor does the country's situation require changing the standing system. What the country needs is only changing the general conduct of the rulers and ruled.
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[archive-e:1109-v:15-y:2007-d:2007-12-06-p:opinion]
