Ruling GPC party to hold meeting on national developments

SANA'A, March 05 (Saba)- The General Committee of the General People
Congress (GPC) is to hold a meeting on Thursday to review a number
of national developments.

A source in the ruling GPC party was quoted by the state-run
26september weekly as saying that the meeting would discuss a number
of national and regional developments.

"The GPC meeting will focus on the issues of the next phase in the
light of the political parties' decision to delay the parliamentary
elections for two years", the source said.

The Yemen political parties agreed last week to delay the
Parliamentary elections two years for discussing more comprehensive
political reforms. The elections were supposed to be held April 27th.

The delay comes after about two years of failed series of dialogue
between the ruling party and the opposition alliance which include
the four parties of the Islamists, Socialists, Nasserites, and
Ba'ath, over reaching an agreement to conduct free and fair
elections.

The crisis between the two sides reached a deadlock on August 18th,
2008, when the majority of the ruling party, General People's
Congress, GPC, voted for forming a supreme elections' committee
without participation of opposition alliance, the Joint Meeting
Parties, JMPs.

Ever since the opposition alliance, JMPs, have been refusing the
committee and all steps taken by it in preparation for the lections
day as illegal.

The JMPs have been saying they will go to "a nation-wide
consultation process" to get out the political crisis, instead of
going to the polls.