NEW PARLIAMENT SPEAKER AND DEPUTY SPEAKERS ALL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000258

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2018
TAGS: PGOV YM
SUBJECT: NEW PARLIAMENT SPEAKER AND DEPUTY SPEAKERS ALL
FROM RULING PARTY

Classified By: DCM Angie Bryan for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: The Yemeni Parliament chose its new Speaker
of Parliament and Deputy Speakers on February 11. The ruling
party won all slots, despite the unpopularity of its
nominated Speaker and the opposition's clever strategy to
maximize its chances. End Summary.


The Winners:
--------------


2. (C) The Parliament elected on February 11 a new Speaker
and three Deputy Speakers, all from the ruling General
People's Congress (GPC) party. The GPC-block pushed to
victory former acting Speaker Yahya Ali al-Raie as Speaker
and Mohammed Ali Salem al-Shadadi, Himyar al-Ahmar (son of
the recently deceased Speaker of Parliament Abudullah
al-Ahmar) and Akram Mohamed Atiyah as Deputy Speakers.
Al-Raie was reportedly nominated at the direction of
President Saleh and the Deputy Speaker candidates were chosen
in a party meeting on February 10. Al-Raie was reported to
have won 189 of the votes, while the opposition's candidate,
Ali Ashal, won 69 votes.

The Also Rans:
--------------


3. (C) The opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) coalition
block nominated on February 9 Islah MP Ali Ashal as their
candidate for Speaker. On February 10, the JMP-block
nominated only one candidate for the Deputy Speaker position:
Zaid al-Shami. Despite the loss of their nominees, the JMP
did not leave empty-handed. Mohamed al-Shadadi, although
GPC, is a member of the reform-minded YemenPac (Yemeni
Parliamentarians Against Corruption) and is well-liked among
many opposition MPs.

GPC Used Clout to Push an Unpopular Candidate
--------------


4. (C) The GPC counted on its strong majority to carry its
candidates to victory. (Note: The GPC has 229 out of 301
seats in Parliament, while the JMP has 58 seats and the
independents 14 seats. End Note). Despite the win, however,
not all GPC members were pleased with their choices. Al-Raie
is not popular with many in the GPC Parliament block. GPC MP
Nabil Basha told PolEcon Chief on February 2 that the
position of Speaker was "too big" for al-Raie. He also noted
that, as Deputy Speaker, Al-Raie had, on more than one
occasion, physically struck Parliamentarians. Al-Raie is
even less liked outside of his party. Independent MP Sakhir
al-Wajeeh and Islah MP Abdul-Razzaq al-Hajiri told PolOffs on
February 10 that al-Raie "has no respect for the
constitution, the Parliament, or MPs." Al-Wajeeh reported
that al-Raie once attempted to physically fight him during a
Parliamentary session after al-Wajeeh received applause
during a debate. Al-Raie is generally described as a bully
and is known to be "the President's man," according to
SaadEddine Talib, former MP and current member of the Supreme
National Authority for Combating Corruption (SNACC).

Opposition Strategy
--------------


5. (C) Anticipating that the GPC's majority would allow it to
place its candidates in the presidium, the JMP hatched a
"spoiler strategy" for these elections. Ashal, the JMP
candidate for Speaker, told PolEcon Chief on February 10 that
he did not expect to gain the votes required to win the
position, but, instead, hoped to gain sufficient support to
prevent al-Raie from taking the Speaker's chair on the first
vote. (Note: While a simple majority of the
parliamentarians present is sufficient to win the
Speakership, if a candidate does not gain a simple majority
of the entire membership his election must be confirmed by a
second vote. End Note.) Ashal felt that forcing a second
vote would send a clear message that al-Raie was not a
consensus choice of the membership.


6. (C) Similarly, the decision to nominate only one Deputy
Speaker candidate was also a strategic step. According to
Counselor to the Presidium Salem Ahmed Bintaleb, while
nominating only one candidate made it impossible for the
coalition to take more than one of the three Deputy Speaker
positions, it forestalled any splitting of the opposition JMP
vote. (Note: The Presidium is a term used to denote the
Speaker of Parliament and the three Deputy Speakers. End
Note). Further, by leaving only one alternative to the GPC
slate of Deputy Speaker candidates, the JMP hoped to take

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maximum advantage of the "protest vote" among GPC members to
the strong-arm tactics used by that party's leadership,
particularly in imposing al-Raie as the candidate for Speaker.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) With a large majority and the backing of President
Saleh, it was expected that al-Raie would take the
Speakership. The JMP, however, crafted a very intelligent
strategy to make the best of a bad situation. This election
has shown that despite discontent within the party, GPC
members will continue to be loyal when it counts the most.
End Comment.
SECHE