Sanaa – Khalid Haroji
New Yemeni president Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Sanaa – Khalid Haroji Yemeni's opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) has refused to take part in the inaugural ceremony of Yemen's new president Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, who is to
run the country for the next two years.
Sources close to the ruling General People’s Congress (GPC) stated that Hadi’s swearing-in will be held and attended by delegations from countries who have majorly contributed to the political settlement of power-transfer reached in Yemen.
Invitations have been sent to Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al-Arabi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, UN envoy General Jamal Benomar, foreign ministers of GCC countries and permanent member states in the UN Security Council, particularly the United States, Russia, China, and the European Union.
Political sources in Yemen stated that Saleh, who returned to Sanaa on Saturday, is keen on the inaugural official power-transfer to Hadi, who was elected last Tuesday as the new President in accordance to the GCC agreement signed in Riyadh last November.
The ceremony is to be held for the first time in Yemen’s history at the Presidential Palace, so that Saleh will appear officially and voluntarily handing over power to his former Vice President, as opposed to doing so because revolutionary pressure, according to supporters.
A JMP spokesperson in the new government, Abdu Ghaleb Al-Odaini said on Sunday: "The ceremony usually takes place inside parliament."
"Saleh’s ceremony is illegal as it breaches the law and Yemeni traditions. It is not good for Hadi to appear beside the ousted president at this time because it provokes Yemeni citizens who gave him their trust and voted for him in the presidential elections," said Al-Odaini.