Yemen unrest: Saleh’s absence ignites succession race

Yemen opposition vows to keep out the injured president.

SANAA:

Yemen is mired in political uncertainty after President Ali Abdullah Saleh was flown for treatment in Saudi Arabia after being wounded, raising questions as to who will replace the beleaguered leader.

Many dismiss his low-profile deputy Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi as the next head of state and point towards Saleh’s eldest son Ahmed, commander of the elite Republican Guard, as his likely successor.

Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that President Saleh intended to return home following his recovery in hospital. But even if Saleh wants to return, it is unlikely Saudi Arabia will allow him, the BBC reported.

A source close to the presidency told AFP that Hadi and Ahmed held a high-level meeting with several military officials late on Saturday, without disclosing what was discussed.

Under the constitution, Hadi replaces Saleh in the president’s absence after the veteran leader was wounded by an explosion as he prayed at a mosque inside the presidential compound in Sanaa on Friday.

Parliamentary opposition spokesman Mohammed Qahtan said Saleh’s sons must be “forced to hand power over to Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.”

“We are ready to cooperate with Abdrabuh but the problem is whether his (Saleh’s) children are ready to hand power over to him,” Qahtan said.

Despite opposition vows to keep Saleh out of Yemen, a spokesman for the ruling General People’s Congress (GPC) told Al-Arabiya satellite television channel on Sunday: “President Saleh will return to Yemen within days.”

“We will work with all our strength to prevent his return,” parliamentary opposition spokesman Mohammed Qahtan told AFP. “We see this as the beginning of the end of this tyrannical and corrupt regime.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2011.