A UAE website has said that it is very likely that the son of the deposed Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Colonel Ahmad Ali, will assume the presidency of the country in the aftermath of the resignation of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Quoting well informed sources, Erem News reported that there were increasing indications that Colonel Ahmad Ali Saleh was going to assume the presidency following the insistence of the representatives of General People’s Congress that parliament should decide following Hadi’s resignation.
According to the sources, referring the matter back to parliament is a valuable opportunity to nominate Ahmad Ali to fill the vacant presidential position since he has more chances than anybody else to be approved by the parliament whose majority happens to be loyal to Salih’s party (the General People’s Congress).
Ahmad Ali was appointed Yemeni Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates after President Hadi issued decisions to restructure the army into four main branches: the ground forces, the navy, the air force and the border guard. This led to the dissolution of the Republican Guard that was under the command of the former president’s son.
He was accused of plotting the coup against Hadi in the aftermath of the state of lawlessness that prevailed in the country after the Houthis seized control of Sanaa in September.
In the meantime, the Houthis insist on forming a presidential council to fill the void created following Hadi’s resignation.
Talks, described by Houthi sources as decisive, are being held between Saleh’s party and the Houthis. Yahya Al-Houthi, the brother of the leader of the Houthis, said that the meetings and discussions have come out with decisive points and decisions that will be announced soon.
It would seem from the continuing meetings between individuals loyal to Saleh and others affiliated with the Houthis that important steps are likely to be taken to pave the way for the acceptance by the Houthis of the proposal to refer Hadi’s resignation to parliament. Should this happen, it would be possible to hold a vote, which observers believe will be conducive to delivering the presidency to Saleh’s son.
Saleh has been accused by several parties of assisting the Houthis in their bid to seize control of Sanaa.
Translated from Arabi21, 1 February 2015
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