Sana’a: Yemen’s main political factions, including the Al Houthi rebels, signed an agreement on Saturday mandating the president and prime minister to form a new government in an effort to defuse political tensions that have crippled the impoverished state.
Yemeni Prime Minister Khalid Bahah will head the selection of the new ministers in consultation with President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a statement emailed from the 13 political parties said.
“We, the political parties, ask President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Bahah to form a competent national government ... which is committed to the protection of human rights, rule of law and neutrality in the management of affairs of the country,” the statement said.
The statement did not mention when the new government would be formed, but a number of party members who were involved in the negotiations that led to Saturday’s agreement said it could be in a few days or a week.
UN special envoy Jamal Benomar, who attended the meetings, said that under the agreement parties that do not have representatives in the president’s advisory body will be allowed to nominate candidates for the different ministries.
“Following that, the prime minister will choose the more competent candidates for each posting,” said Benomar.
Benomar on Sunday urged political rivals to form a new government within days to head off rising ‘sectarian tensions’.
‘Failure to pursue this would mean an increase in sectarian tensions’ between Sunnis and Shiites in the country, he warned.
“Recent developments have brought on a new discourse that is xenophobic, sometimes sectarian, and this is a worrying trend,” Benomar said.
“This didn’t happen in the past ... The only way forward is for all sides to cooperate to establish a new government and move forward the implementation of the peace partnership agreement,” reached on September 21, he added.
Yemen’s Al Houthi rebels were among the groups who signed the agreement, according to signatures on the agreement.
Al Houthis had given Hadi an ultimatum on Friday to form a government in 10 days or face “other options”.
In recent months, Al Houthis have become Yemen’s power-brokers and sent their militiamen into the west and centre of the country, far beyond their traditional redoubts. They captured the capital Sana’a on September 21, following weeks of antigovernment unrest.
The international community is worried that instability in the country of 25 million could strengthen Al Qaida and have supported a political transition since 2012 led by Hadi.
A southern secessionist movement and Al Qaida onslaught on security forces had already stretched the resources of the government before the latest crisis, alarming neighbouring Gulf Arab states.
