By: Moneer Al-Omari & Sahar Al-Sharjabi

Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) have gotten what they were asking for, at least for now. Both the ruling party, General People Congress (GPC), and opposition have agreed to delay the parliamentary elections which were due to be held this April for two years, therefore giving both sides a chance to reach agreements on the large differences between them.
More than 120 parliament members voted for the amendment of the Yemeni Constitution (65) article that provides a six-year period to the parliament, including an extension for two more years.
Parliament members who voted for an extension justified that it is required in an opportunity for the different parties and civil society organizations to discuss the constitutional amendments necessary for the development of political and electoral system, as well as the empowerment of the parties in the parliament to complete the deferred topics regarding the electoral law amendments before the 18th of August in addition to the restructuring of the Higher Elections Committee.
Prior to the agreement, the JMP refused to enter the elections. Head of the Supreme Council of Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) Sultan Al-Atwani continuously kept saying “we will not be part of the forthcoming elections due to be conducted on April 27”.
Similarly, leading Yemeni Socialist Party member and intellectual Ali Al-Sarari noted before the agreement that the current conditions will lead to just one result, which is boycotting the forthcoming elections.
Two years and so have passed since opposition parties and the ruling party started arguments about elections and the necessity for reforming the current electoral system as well as the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER).
From time to time, there has been some intervention from friendly countries and international organizations interested in Yemen’s democratic experience, including the European Union, the International Federation for Electoral Systems and the National Democratic Institute.
Last month, the European Union sent an explorative mission to evaluate the feasibility for sending an observatory team for April 2009. The mission held a series of meetings with GPC and JMP officials. Though they never decided their final stance, the mission will not observe the elections once JMP resorts to boycotting.
Late in 2006, opposition and the ruling party reached what is known to be the agreement of principles, but this agreement has never been realized in reality and there are constant demands by opposition to contain the conditions set thereof in any forthcoming dialogue or negotiations and to be part of the suggested solutions.

JMP Demands
Aside from their demands to amend the 2001 elections law and reforming SCER, opposition parties issued a new vision which prioritizes the issue of South Yemen and considers it to be a gate for the comprehensive national reforms. They also included Sa’ada issue on the table where Houthis are part of any dialogue in this respect.
Opposition, according to experts, relies on common citizens who have got bored out of the repeated and false promises of the ruling party. The current economic situation together with the high costs of living is all factors that could help opposition in this respect.
Meanwhile, the ruling party proceeds in its unilateral preparations for the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Several ministers, governors and high ranking officials have resigned their official posts after running for parliamentary elections.
However, several sources still speak of a series of secret meetings involving President Ali Abdulalh Saleh and some JMP leaderships, even after the deal to delay the elections. These meetings seek to make both sides reach a fair compromise deal.

Political impasse
Aiming to stand against the current political impasse, opposition parties have called for a national counsel and dialogue where all citizens nationwide can negotiate and see the best ways and solutions to deal with the current crisis.
In an interview with Al-Sahwa, Sheikh Hamid Al-Ahmar, a leading member of Islah Party and a key supporter of JMP, stated that this move is the first step towards strengthening the national partnership with society for discussing national issues and come up with decisions that lead the country to the right direction.
Describing the current political impasse to be the biggest national crisis, Al-Ahmar called on all Yemeni citizens to unite their efforts because the current crisis is not merely that of GPC and JMP but rather it is the crisis of Yemen and Yemenis. He added that the JMP call for dialogue is a confession of the fact that opposition parties alone are incapable to handle the current crisis, noting it is necessary to have a national partnership.
The recent dialogue is to involve Houthi followers and some southern leaderships including former and the first Prime Minster of the united Yemen Haider Abu Bakr Al-Attas, according to Al-Ahmar who revealed that he will visit him [Al-Attas] soon to officially discuss the issue.