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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Democratisation backtrack
By Nasser ArrabyeeThe Yemeni opposition is decrying parliament's approval of amendments to 15 articles of the constitution, changes that it views as undermining democracy. These amendments include extending the terms of the president and parliament, granting the president the power to dissolve the legislature and weakening the status of this body.
Only seven months before parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held, the 301-member Yemeni House of Representatives on 23 August voted overwhelmingly in favour of a series of significant changes to the constitution.
Most of these amendments were tabled in parliament last week through a memorandum by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. One day before parliament voted its initial approval, he met with representatives of the opposition parties to brief them on the proposed amendments.
At the top of these changes was the extension of the president's tenure from five to seven years and that of the legislative house from four to six years. Debate escalated over the stipulation that the amendments to extend the terms of the president and the parliament take force retroactively.
If these amendments are approved in the later stages of the process for changing the constitution, parliamentary elections will be postponed from 27 April 2001 to sometime in early 2003. President Saleh, who was elected for a second five-year term in 1999, will also be able to stay in office until 2006 instead of vacating his post in 2004.
The president's memorandum to the House of Representatives did not explicitly propose extending the presidential term. Sources close to the president, who has been in power for 22 years, claimed that he personally refused the extension of the presidential term in his meeting with opposition parties. However, 144 MPs from the ruling party, "insisted" on submitting the proposal to extend the tenure of the president.
Other amendments which have raised the ire of the opposition include one giving the president power to dissolve parliament without obtaining the people's approval through a referendum, as stipulated by the current constitution. Just as controversial is a proposal to change the status of legislation approved by deputies to be considered as "recommendations" rather binding measures.
Another amendment that indirectly augments the influence of the president is that providing for the formation of an upper house. This body, according to the amendment, should comprise 111 members of "experience and competence" all of whom are to be appointed by the president.
Unlike the existing presidentially-appointed 59-seat Shura or Consultative Council, the proposed upper house would enjoy wider powers, participating with the House of Representatives in "passing laws, developing the general plans for economic and social development, ratifying legislation, treaties, agreements on defence, alliances, truces and borders," said President Saleh's memorandum.
To appease opposition parties, a few amendments that would seem to make elections for the presidency more competitive and limit the president's power, were also included. The percentage of support required from parliament for proposing presidential nominations has been reduced from the current 10 per cent to five per cent. Also relating to the election of the president is the requirement that there be at least three candidates running in presidential elections. Meanwhile, the president will no longer have the right to issue decrees during the recesses of the House of Representatives.
On the whole, Yemeni opposition parties characterised the proposed amendments as a coup against democracy and pluralism, weakening the House of Representatives.
Following parliament's preliminary approval, the amendments were referred to an ad-hoc committee of parliamentarians for further consideration during a period of 60 days, in accordance with the present Yemeni constitution. The last stage after final approval by the House of Representatives is a public referendum expected to be held in November.
After the unification of the former North and South Yemeni Republics in 1990, a new constitution was drafted. In 1994, the constitution was amended for the first time with the main aim of limiting the president's tenure to two five-year terms.
"The amendments come with the objective of developing the electoral system and expanding the range of the people's participation in decision-making process," said President Saleh in his memo to parliament.
"The constitutional amendments are needed for the national interest, to fortify the structure of the modern Yemeni state, rule of law and order," the memo added.
Yet, Yemeni opposition figures disagreed entirely with the justifications given by the president. "To give the president the right to dissolve parliament without a national referendum is not in accordance with the development of democracy in Yemen. It is an explicit aggression against the peoples' right to participate in decision- making," said deputy Fahd Al-'Alimi, of the Islamic-oriented Islah Party, the main opposition party in parliament.
"The House of Representatives will only be further weakened and our role as the peoples' representatives enfeebled if we approve the amendments," warned Al-'Alimi.
MP Yahya Abu Usbo', prominent member of the Yemeni Socialist Party, said that the "amendments are a blow to the unity constitution and have put us on the road to one-party dominance."
"Ending the right of MPs to give directives to the government, and turning these into recommendations can only lead to the dominance of the executive power," Abu Usbo' added.
