Parliament voted to withdraw confidence against the Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohammed Al-Mikhlafi, during a Parliament session on Monday.
The session included 60 members of Parliament; Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) members were absent as they have pledged to boycott Parliament sessions until President Hadi implements comprehensive reforms.
Head of Parliament Yahia Al-Ra’i threatened to suspend further Parliament sessions unless confidence had been withdrawn against the minister, who represents the Socialist party.
“The sessions of Parliament will continue and will not be suspended as long as confidence is withdrawn against the Legal Affairs Minister,” Al-Ra’i stated.
The move follows last week’s vote by the General People’s Congress (GPC) and other members to refer the minister for investigation for allegedly violating the constitution, questioning the legitimacy of Parliament and misleading the public.
The minister was summoned to Parliament last week. He did not attend, pointing to the absence of JMP representatives at the session.
In an interview with the Yemen Times, the minister said that holding Parliament sessions with only GPC members in attendance renders the outcome of the sessions illegal.
“All parties should refer back to the GCC Initiative and help Parliament regain its legitimacy. It’s imperative that we continue the reforming and building process so that the country can pave a way out of the current situation,” Al-Mikhlafi said.
Islah party leader Zaid Al-Shami said Al-Ra’i’s statement was nonsense. He told Yemen Times that JMP will continue to boycott the sessions until GPC members ‘come to their senses,’ and realize that Parliament cannot be ruled by majority.
With a majority in Parliament, GPC has been passing legislation without the support of JMP and other members. The JMP says issues and legislation should be based on reconciliation as outlined by the GCC Initiative.
GPC Parliament member Senan Alaji said that, “Al-Mekhlafi insulted Parliament and forgot that he and the reconciliation government derive their legitimacy from it.”
Alaji says the GPC supports the reconciliation stipulated by the GCC Initiative.
“GPC Parliament members should attend sessions and refer disagreements to the president to resolve. This is the mechanism of reconciliation,” Alaji said.
The last Parliamentary election was held in 2003. The term of the current Parliament was to end in 2009 but was extended for two more years after an agreement was reached between the ruling party and the opposition parties.
by:Mohammed al-Hassani
