Shoura Council not enough to accommodate governor election victims [Archives:2008/1156/Opinion]
Ghamdan Al-Yousifi
Six of the current governors will retain their posts, however, the government found that it is too difficult to place some of them in other posts, which is why it then resorted to create new positions as assistant governors. One of the currently serving governors Yahya Al-Amri has forgotten how to lead a life without being a governor.
He is projected to take job as Dhamar governor, which will be the fourth governorate controlled by the man, following Marib, Sa'ada and Al-Beidha. He is a strong man with numerous question marks that have revealed why he has been serving as governor for a long time.
Similarly, Judge Ahmad Al-Hajri, who served in Taiz and Hodeida, is projected to be Ibb governor while Farid Ahmad Mujawar will be given the governor post for the third time in Hajja where he is currently serving after he was appointed as governor one time in Mahweet and another time in Abyan.
Ahmad Ali Mohsen, the current Mahweet governor, will retain his post after serving in Shabwa earlier. We still have two of the previous governors, namely they are: Noman Duaid, due to be Sana'a governor after serving in Amran, and Fadhel Al-Qawsi, the current Jawf governor, who is projected to retain post in the same governorate.
For the first time in 15 years, Taiz will have a governor from its natives, and so are Aden and Hadramout. Questioning will follow when well-known names are dropped from the list of senior posts. The government will need to satisfy well-know dignitaries such as Ahmad Al-Kuhlani, current Aden governor, Yahya Mohammed Al-Shuaibi, current Mayor of the Capital City and Mutahhar Rashad Al-Masri, presently serving in Sa'ada.
Other dignitaries the government will need to satisfy include Abdulwahab Yahya Al-Durra, Ali Al-Qaisi, Ali Mohammed Al-Maqdashi, Taha Abdullah Hajer, Mohammed Saleh Shamlan, Mansour Abduljalil, Arif Al-Zawka and Ahmad Musa'ed Hussein, who are currently serving as governors in the various governorates.
The government may not find suitable posts for such names, even the Shoura Council will not be enough to accommodate such a list of dignitaries the regime relied on for a long time period.
Two minister posts will be vacant for the potentially sacked governors to struggle over, one of which is the Ministry of Civil Service and Insurance while the other is still unannounced. Al-Kuhlani is predicted to serve as Minister of Civil Service and Insurance because he is the most related with the regime while street talks reveal that he may compete with Mujawar for the post of Hajja governor.
The situation may need Mr. President to issue a decree to reshuffle the Cabinet in order to satisfy these dignitaries, a talk which has been spreading in streets for a short time period, and during which time, several ministers have been expecting to be the first victims of gubernatorial elections.
The matter may undergo slight change, but other posts will be announced as being vacant like those in the General People Congress (GPC) general secretariat. Post of the GPC secretary-general is expected to be given to one of the dignitaries due to be jobless as a result of governor elections.
Consensus on candidates in some governorates impossible:
Political analysts are anticipating what will happen to some governorates where reaching a consensus on gubernatorial candidates from the ruling party may not be possible, mainly in Beidha and Aden where chairmen of GPC branches nominated themselves to compete with candidates nominated by their party's general secretariat. They did so in furious reactions to the ruing party's general secretariat that hadn't selected them as eligible candidates in their home governorates.
Many Parliament members criticized naming Secretary-General of Beidha Local Council Naser Al-Khadher Al-Sawadi as the ruling party's candidate in Al-Dhalea governorate for being a member of the voting staff (a voter since new governors will be elected by local councilors according to the most recent amendment to the Local Authority Law) in his home governorate.
These MPs hold the view that naming Al-Sawadi as gubernatorial candidate came in response to the desire of Yasser Al-Awadhi, deputy head of ruling party's caucus in Parliament.
On the other hand, Chairman of Aden-based GPC branch Dr. Mohammed Al-Abbadi is still insisting to compete with the party general secretariat's candidate Dr. Adnan Al-Jefri as an independent candidate since he is confident that the voting staff will vote for him for his being aware of the governorate's needs, according to his speech.
After more than a week of argument, the ruling party general secretariat made its list of gubernatorial candidates in all governorates but the party local councilors in many governorates seemed to be unsatisfied with the decision, saying it edged out their role in the selection process.
Expecting Al-Dhalea to have a governor from outside the ruling party, the government may attempt to create legal obstacles to the electoral process in the governorate. And, the war-ravaged Sa'ada governorate may benefit from having a governor from its natives. Despite all these details, it is said that the list of potential governors is already made.
Source: Al-Tagheer.com
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[archive-e:1156-v:18-y:2008-d:2008-05-19-p:opinion]
