News

The difference between today's Friends of Yemen conference in London and the first conference to take place in the capital eight years ago is that the current conference is being held at a time when Yemen is in jeopardy of failing in light of a transitional authority put in power in order to cross into a free and dignified future in response to the demands of the Yemeni people and their desires for change, as well as fulfil their dream of establishing a modern democratic state.

Thousands of members of the Peaceful Southern Movement gathered in Aden and Mukala, Yemen, yesterday to mark the 20th anniversary of the civil war and announced their refusal of the new federation system, calling instead for independence from the north.

They raised the flag of the state of north Yemen and other posters calling for "liberation and independence". The movement is headed by Hassan Ba'oum.

The ink was barely dry on President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi’s plan to stabilize chaotic Yemen before the objections started pouring in.

Leader of a nation seemingly on the brink of breakdown for years, Hadi had hoped he could appease rival political groups by creating a federal state of six regions that would give each more say over political, social, economic and security affairs.

To date, few factions appear placated, a reality that bodes ill for a country already battling endemic poverty, poor governance, regional insurgencies and Al-Qaeda militancy.

For the second time, Prime Minister Muhammad Basendowa was forced to discontinue his speech. He was ousted during the Youth General Conference which was being broadcasted live on Yemen Official Television.
Basendowa said during his speech, “The Yemen unity, in its present political form, is not acceptable,” causing an uproar amongst the youths. This uproar is what forced Basendowa to abruptly leave the conference.

SA’ADA, Aug. 21 — President Abdu Rabu Mansur Hadi established a committee on Wednesday tasked with ending the renewed clashes in Damaj, Sa’ada between the Houthis affilaites and Salafis. 

President Hadi ordered the committee to meet with five representatives from each group in order to reach a solution to the conflict, said Hassn Zaid, head of the Al-Haq Party.  

Three Damaj residents were killed and eight wounded Tuesday and Wednesday after the two sides exchanged gunfire, Damaj resident Mohammed Al-Wadei said. Machine guns and bazookas were used during the clashes. 

The state building team at the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) voted on the choice of the closed proportional representation as an electoral system for Yemen.
The proportional system obtained 97.7 percent of the members of the team, while the mixed system obtained only one vote.
Meanwhile, the state building team approved a constitutional article including the woman quota and another suggestion which stipulate,

SANA’A, July 6 — The Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER) announced on Thursday the start of the registration process for those interested in working with the technical coordinating committees on the new electronic elector registration campaign. SCER is in particular need of computer technicians for the campaign, they stated. 

SCER finished preparations for the electronic system last month to prepare for elections in February 2014, as outlined by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative. 

President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi has mediated a month-and-a-half-long dispute between the General People’s Congress (GPC) and the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) that led to the boycott of Parliament sessions by the JMP. 

With a majority in Parliament, the GPC has been able to pass legislation without the support or presence of the JMP. The JMP insists that decisions should be made according to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Initiative and its implementation mechanism, not by majority vote.