PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CAUSES DISSENT IN RULING PARTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000268

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2018
TAGS: PGOV YM
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CAUSES DISSENT IN RULING PARTY

REF: SANAA 258

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

SUMMARY
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1. (C) On February 11, President Saleh's choice was elected
Speaker of Parliament. General unhappiness with the new
speaker and the strong arm tactics used to elect him have
alienated many in the ruling party. Considering the number
of issues already facing the ROYG, the President's decision
to force this issue may have been ill advised. End Summary.

GPC MEMBERS UNHAPPY ABOUT AL RAIE
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2. (C) Despite the victory of all four of the ruling party's
candidates in February 11's parliamentary leadership election
(reftel),a rift appeared within the General People's
Congress (GPC). Hints of dissent arose early in the process
and appeared to focus on unpopular (then acting) Parliament
Speaker Yahya al-Raie. On February 2, after the opening of
the new Parliament session, GPC MP Nabil Basha told POL/E
Chief that he doubted the GPC could gather sufficient votes
to elect al-Raie outright. He predicted that the President
would delay the selection of a new speaker as long as
possible to allow al-Raie to remain acting speaker. Even
after al-Raie's election, Basha continued to describe party
dissent. "There was no consensus on al-Raie," he told POL/E
Chief on February 12.


3. (C) Party discontent was clear during the February 10 GPC
party meeting to nominate candidates for Deputy Speaker.
Former GPC MP and current member of the Supreme National
Authority for Combating Corruption Dr. Saadaldeen Talib told
PolOff on February 10 that his contacts had informed him that
only about 130 of the GPC's 240 members attended the meeting.
Abdul-Karim Mohamed al-Aslamy, GPC MP and Deputy Chairman of
the Parliament Finance Committee, told POL/E Chief at the
same function that he and many other members were
deliberately boycotting the meeting in protest. Noting
al-Aslamy's discontent, opposition Islah MP Sadiq al-Baadani
quipped, "we shouldn't call it (the GPC) the ruling party, we
should call it the party of the ruler." While the broad
margin of victory enjoyed by al-Raie initially appeared to
indicate that the GPC leadership had pulled its members into
line, final analysis showed that problems remain. Basha told
Pol/E Chief on February 12 that he knew of at least 30 GPC
members who, in spite of pressure from the party leadership,
voted for the opposition candidate, Ali Ashal.

STRONG ARM TACTICS
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4. (C) On February 10, al-Aslamy told POL/E Chief of the
strong arm tactics used by GPC Secretary General (and former
Prime Minister) Abdulkader Bajamal to control the candidate
selection process. To quell the groundswell of resistance to
al-Raie's nomination, Bajamal pointedly reminded the GPC
members that 2009 is an election year, and noted that,
without the support of the Party leadership, candidates would
be unlikely to be reelected. Even after agreement was
reached on al-Raie's nomination, the pressure tactics
continued. In announcing the February 10 elections to choose
the GPC candidates for the Deputy Speaker positions, Bajamal
reportedly told the party membership, "we will allow you to
elect the nominees for Deputy Speaker. If you elect the
wrong ones, then we will select the nominees for you."

COMMENT
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5. (C) President Saleh maintains control of the GPC. (Note:
Saleh is also the GPC's Chairman. End Note.) His decision
to force his choice for Parliament Speaker, however, may have
been a poor one. Already under considerable domestic
pressure, Saleh can ill afford to open a new battle front
within his own party.
SECHE