New Saudi opposition bloc calls for the accession of Prince Ahmed to throne

A Saudi opposition group called “Allied for Good Governance” on Sunday called on Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud to take power in Saudi Arabia for a transitional period of one year, until the people of Saudi Arabia decide their fate” the bloc said in its first statement received exclusively by al- Khaleej Online news site.

“The past four years have proven that King [Salman] and the Crown Prince [Mohammed] are not fit to rule and that their way of governance threatens the kingdom, its sanctities, its people and its resources,” the statement said.

The bloc members stressed that their support for Prince Ahmed “is based on his keenness to save the state and his reluctance to rule, and that was not a party to the violations that occurred in previous eras”.

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The statement called for the release of all detainees in Saudi prisons, who have been detained since Mohammed bin Salman came into power and to compensate them.

The signatories to the statement said it was issued after consultations and coordination with a wide range of Saudi people including the armed forces and security, adding that “the wrong and irresponsible policies adopted … since the arrival of Mohammed bin Salman have put the country in a historic impasse”.

“The tragic assassination of martyrs: (journalist) Jamal Khashoggi, Turki al-Jasser and Suleiman al-Dweish and the expansion of the circle of violations have led Saudi Arabia to trouble” it added.

The bloc has criticised the actions of the Saudi crown prince including “irresponsible policies, the suppression of reformers, the arresting of children, elderly and women, the war on Yemen, the siege on Qatar and engaging in advanced negotiations with Israel”.

The bloc includes six political opposition movements and seven independents.

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