PARLIAMENT FLEXES MUSCLES, CHALLENGES ROYG ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 002920

SIPDIS

PLEASE PASS TO NEA/PI FOR L. SCHULZ.

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL KMPI KMCA YM DOMESTIC POLITICS DEMOCRATIC REFORM
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT FLEXES MUSCLES, CHALLENGES ROYG ON
CORRUPTION

REF: A. SANAA 1782

B. SANAA 2766

Classified By: A/DCM Thomas Burke for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. In its last session, Yemen's Parliament
asserted its constitutional authority in unprecedented
fashion, summoning ministers for questioning, challenging
ROYG corruption, and even passing original legislation.
Parliamentarians also took aim at the Speaker, Sheikh
Abdullah al-Ahmar, accusing him of protecting corrupt
ministers and furthering his own business interests at the
expense of Parliament's independence. Opposition to ROYG
policies transcended party affiliation and demonstrated the
growing influence of reform-minded MPs, many of whom have
received training and support from MEPI-funded programs.
Parliament remains much weaker than the executive branch, but
there are growing signs that the legislature is ready to play
a more active role in Yemen's democracy. End summary.

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Parliament v. ROYG
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2. (SBU) On September 21, Parliament entered the Ramadan
recess after one of the most active sessions of Yemen's
legislature in the fifteen years since unification. For the
first time, Parliament used its Constitutional authority to
require government ministers to appear before the members for
questioning. Parliament submitted 76 lists of questions to
the ROYG, and set out a two-week schedule for ministers to
appear and address the body. The issues addressed included
the sale of liquid natural gas, implementation of the sales
tax, and the shooting of demonstrators during July fuel
riots. Perhaps most controversial is a supplementary budget
currently before Parliament. (Septel)


3. (C) According to Saadaldin Taleb of the National
Democratic Institute (NDI),the session culminated in a
standoff with the executive branch, when Parliament demanded
that Minister of Public Works Abdullah al-Dafa'i answer
questions about his ministry's tendering practices. Dafa'i
initially dispatched his deputy, who confessed to MPs that
eighty percent of the ministry's contracts were awarded
without tender. This clear violation of Yemeni law prompted
Parliament to insist that Dafa'i himself appear. His refusal
to do so led many MPs to call for a no-confidence vote in the
Minister. (Note: Parliament has the constitutional power to
vote a minister out of office, but has never exercised this
right. End note.)

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Al-Ahmar: "Protector of Corruption"
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4. (C) In a twist demonstrating the oddity of Yemen's
Parliament, members of the President's own GPC party were
behind the push to remove Dafa'i. The GPC holds nearly
eighty percent of the seats in Parliament, but a growing
caucus within the party is willing to criticize the
Government for what it perceives to be rampant corruption and
mismanagement. Standing in their way was Sheikh Abdullah
al-Ahmar, leader of the minority opposition Islah party but
appointed by President Saleh to be Speaker of Parliament.
The four-person Presidium committee, headed by the Speaker
and charged with determining the Parliamentary agenda, is
responsible for delivering inquiries to ROYG ministers and
demanding their appearance before Parliament. Al-Ahmar has
repeatedly refused to carry out his duty, said Taleb, viewing
his personal relationship with the President as more
important than his position in Parliament.


5. (C) In the case of Dafa'i, Taleb expained that al-Ahmar
was even more reticent to summon the Minister for questions,
as his own road-building company was the beneficiary of many
illegal contracts with the Ministry of Public Works.
Parliamentarians sought to retaliate against al-Ahmar by
threatening a vote of no-confidence in Prime Minister
Bajammal, which constitutionally would have brought down the
Government. The MPs had enough signatures to call a vote
(76),but the motion was blocked by the Presidium.


6. (C) Sheikh Abdullah's defense of the ROYG prompted angry
responses from other MPs. Al-Ahmar was accused by fellow
Parliamentarians of being a "protector of corruption." Even
al-Ahmar's son Hamid, an Islahi MP and head of the al-Ahmar
business group, gave a speech saying it was time for his
father to step down. Hamid told Econoff that he believed his
father's relationship with the President was compromising the
integrity of Parliament. Faisal abu-Rhas, a prominent MP
from al-Jawf, offered his resignation to Parliament in
protest saying, "Sheikh Abdullah has clearly revealed his
true face as an obstructionist." According to Taleb, some
MPs who had never before spoken on the floor of Parliament
made statements in support of abu-Rhas and against ROYG
corruption. Many of them focused on al-Ahmar as the heart of
the problem. (Note: Parliament has delayed a vote on
whether to accept abu-Rhas's resignation until after the
Ramadan recess. End note.)


7. (C) Just as al-Ahmar has been protecting the Government,
President Saleh was protecting the Speaker's position. (Ref
A) Parliament submitted to the President a draft of its own
by-law, addressing such issues as pensions for MPs and
issuance of paychecks (MPs are currently paid in cash). The
by-law also includes a provision for electing the Presidium
every two years, with mandatory elections immediately
following passage of the law. Al-Ahmar has been pushing for
at least a three-year term, saying anything less is
undignified. Despite overwhelming GPC support, Saleh vetoed
his party's bill out of loyalty to his long-time ally and
friend, Sheikh Abdullah. Parliamentarians appear to have the
support necessary to override the President's veto, which has
never occurred in the history of the institution. They will
address the matter further upon returning from recess.

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MEPI Strengthens Democratic Institutions
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8. (C) Ali al-Imrani, Head of the Finance Committee,
explained that Parliament's new-found backbone came not out
of loyalty to party or ideology, but to the independence of
the institution itself. Much of this new-found pride, said
Taleb, can be attributed to the success of NDI's MEPI-funded
program for strengthening Parliamentary institutions. Using
NDI's legislative resource center, MPs meet regularly to
analyze and discuss strategy on pending issues. The program
has succeeded in building a core group of reform-minded MPs
from across the political spectrum who are willing to
exercise their constitutional rights as legislators. In
June, for example, Parliament approved a law against smoking
in public buildings that was signed into law by the
President. The vote was notable as it was the first time in
Parliament,s history that it drafted a law from scratch and
had it approved by the President.


9. (C) Abdul Rahman Bafadel, leader of the opposition Islah
caucus in Parliament, expressed a broader vision for Yemen as
a true parliamentary democracy in which the President is
limited to a ceremonial role. Islah spokesman Mohamad Qahtan
has made similar press statements in recent days, indicating
increased confidence in the role of Parliament. Bafadel was
resigned to the fact that President Saleh would likely win
another seven-year term in the 2006 elections, but believed
that by 2013 Yemen would be ready to move away from "the
power of one individual" in democracy. Imrani agreed with
these sentiments, and expressed his desire to shape the GPC
party so that it is independent of the President's control.

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Window Dressing No Longer?
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10. (C) Comment: Parliament's growing willingness to
challenge ROYG policy, especially on issues of corruption, is
a promising sign for Yemen's nascent democracy. Recent
developments come as something of a surprise considering the
GPC's control over Parliament, and demonstrate an increased
sense of institutional integrity among MPs. Parliamentarians
are taking their oversight role more seriously, and have even
begun exercising legislative authority. They are also openly
frustrated with what they view as undemocratic political and
business alliances of ruling elites -- most notably between
President Saleh and Sheikh al-Ahmar. (Ref B) Conflicts of
interest pervade Parliament as well, and many MPs are not
pure democrats. When push comes to shove, Parliament will
usually buckle under pressure from the ROYG, and even many
GPC parliamentarians believe that a stronger opposition is
needed to make Parliament more effective. Nevertheless,
Parliament has a critical role in controlling corruption and
helping democracy take root -- a role it is increasingly
willing to fulfill. End comment.
Krajeski