Does an Opposition exist? [Archives:2006/957/Opinion]
Abdulbari Tahir
Only the strange political mood, manifested by furiousness and changeability, can outdo the strange climate in Sana'a. A few days ago, the Yemeni government and the Opposition appeared as if they were preparing to enter a war, meanwhile the two-sided conflict led to a call for a popular revolution, advocated by Hamid Al-Ahmar and a threat of the sleepy serpent, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Unpredictability in Yemen's political scene is not necessarily a problem, rather it might be evidence of vitality and healthiness if authentic in nature.
In the past, the General People's Congress (GPC) leaders were extremist while Saleh was more flexible. But, disputes over the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum's (SCER) monitoring, revision of registered voter lists, and the subsequent formation of election management committees reveal that extremism is a characteristic of the GPC.
The most recent two-week long dialogue confirmed once again that Saleh, who holds all the documents, is the only eligible official to make bargains and respond to some of the Opposition's demands. The political opposition's only mistake in its comprehensive quest for reforms, including electoral reform, was that it set long-term demands and only accepts minimal solution through negotiations.
The Opposition demands that a modern state be built and insisted on the separation of the different branches of government. It also want to see the eradication of corruption and dismissal of the SCER, yet after negotiations with Saleh, it reached a compromise that called for the participation of two Opposition members on the commission that it accuses of being partial to the ruling party. During another dialogue with the regime, the Opposition accepted the division of the election management personnel as follows: 50 percent for the GPC, 46 percent for the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), and the remaining 4 percent for the General Assembly parties.
For both the government and Opposition national harmony is an important means to get rid of the crisis, but the most important question is “on which matters do the regime and Opposition agree and on which matters do they differ?” The Opposition's demands are many, while government concessions are few.
Frequent meetings are the most important method to tackle the crisis between the government and the Opposition. But while discussing the crisis, the meeting attendees have to take into account its economic, social, cultural, and political dimensions because avoid the nature of the problem or the resort to half-measures will not work.
Diagnosing the nature of Yemen's ills and determining priorities are of great importance as the regime never divulges the existence of a crisis and considers any talk about the crisis as out of bounds.
The high illiteracy rate estimated at 65 percent among males and 80 percent among females is a catastrophic threat to our impoverished country that suffers from rampant corruption and oppression. Additionally, the state's backwardness coupled with its inability to enforce the rule of law requires an immediate remedy.
One should not reduce the significance of the dialogue sponsored by Saleh. All Yemenis know that the Parliament and the Shoura Council are facades that have no relation to legislation. Neither institution has the authority to monitor the executive branch nor force it to account for its actions. Therefore, both bodies lack efficiency and independence.
Agreements between the government and the Opposition have shortcomings as they do not provide cures for our crisis. This raises the question: “Do the requirements for real competition exist?”
The government and the Opposition agree on partial solutions associated with reforming electoral mechanisms. Both sides have agreed on the revision of voter registration lists; however, the most urgent issues are those related to the construction of a modern state based on law and order.
As the government and the Opposition have agreed on methods of monitoring the polls, the ball is now in the Opposition's court. Will the Opposition nominate its own presidential candidate? Will it recommend an independent candidate? Or will the Opposition sell itself out in a bargain with Saleh over the upcoming elections?
Abdulbari Taher is a Yemeni Journalist and the former chairman of Yemeni Journalists Syndicate.
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[archive-e:957-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-06-22-p:opinion]
