Presidential system may not work under totalitarianism, MP says [Archives:2008/1125/Front Page]
By: Adel Al-Khawlani
For Yemen Times
SANA'A, Jan. 30 ) “The move toward a presidential system, as suggested by President Ali Abdullah Saleh's most recent initiative, is unlikely to work in Yemen under a totalitarian regime,” said Parliament member Abdulrahman Ba Fadhal, who is also head of the Islah Parliamentary Caucus, at a symposium entitled “Political Systems under Democracies,” on Wednesday.
Ba Fadhal recommended that Yemen understand the real concept of democracy and what democracy means before moving toward a presidential system with a bicameral legislature, adding that the authority never recognizes the peaceful transfer of power. “The Yemeni authority alone controls power and doesn't allow chances to other political partners to share it in running the country's affairs,” he commented.
Focusing on the political system's impacts on the Parliament, media, tribes and judiciary, the symposium was organized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) as part of its efforts to foster Yemen's democratic development.
“Yemen is a pioneer in the region's democracies and the Yemeni public remains supportive of democracy,” said NDI Country Director Peter Dimitroff at the event. “For more than a decade, the NDI has conducted programs in Yemen with the aim of increasing women's political participation, strengthening local councils, providing Parliament members with core skills and improving the representative nature of Yemen's political parties.”
Dimitroff confirmed that his organization will remain a key partner in Yemen's democratic development, as well as provide all the forms of technical assistance in the country's presidential, parliamentary and local council elections.
The symposium was moderated by Dr. Wisam Sa'ada, a political systems expert from Lebanon, who gave a general overview of the presidential and parliamentary systems, plus the advantages and disadvantages of each in democratic development.
Three papers were presented at the symposium by Sana'a University professors Mohammed Abdullah Numan, Mohammed Muhsin Al-Dhahiri and Samir Al-Abdali respectively, while a fourth one was submitted by former President of Yemeni Journalists Syndicate Abdulbari Taher.
Presented by Numan, the first paper discussed the political system (presidential and parliamentary) and the positive and negative impacts of each on the judiciary while Al-Dhahiri's paper touched upon the relation between the political systems and tribalism and how each influences the other. The third paper, presented by Al-Abdali, focused on both systems' positive and negative impact on Parliament's role.
In his paper, Taher highlighted the presidential and parliamentary systems' impacts on the media role with specific reference to the Yemeni environment.
The two-day symposium was attended by U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Angie Bryan, embassy staff, Parliament members, party leaders, NGO representatives, academics and media personnel. The symposium is due to conclude Thursday, Jan. 31, with the General People Congress's and Joint Meeting Parties' approaches to the presidential and parliamentary systems.
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