almotamar.net - The Secretary General of the General People's Congress (GPC) Abdulqader Bajammal on Monday described the dialogue meetings held with parties of the Joint Meeting (JMP) in the previous period on many issues as similar to the sophists arguments in ancient Greece. He affirmed what the JMP parties were submitting during those dialogues were matters from any of the people's concern.

He elaborated that the dialogue began before the presidential and local elections in Yemen last year and then an agreement was signed on a settlement before the elections and another after the elections. The first settlement was related to adding two persons to members of the Supreme Commission for Election and Referendum (SCER) and that was met by the GPC as there was an amendment on the election law and two members were added to the commission; one from the Islah and another from the Nasserite. Bajammal said that was done despite of severe criticisms made by the GPC leaders and bases that considered that move as concession by the GPC to the JMP.

In his address delivered Monday to a training and organisation course organised by Al-Mithaq Institute for the GPC leaderships in the capital, the GPC Secretary General said the other settlement related to the post-elections as it was agreed on amending the election law so that the SCER would be formed from judges but the parties of the JMP want to share membership with the judges. "That is what we in the GPC refuse and we confirm to them that he judges are independent."

Bajammal indicated that he GPC proposed amending the election law in a way 22 judges are to be selected by the Judiciary Council and for more transparency and democracy the parliament is to choose 14 of them and the president of the republic would choose 7 judges to form the body of the commission.

Bajammal said," We have given more chance to dialogue and deliberations. They wanted the election commission to be partisan share because as they said the European conviction said it to be partisan one although the Europeans indicated to be partisan in accordance whereas the JMP wanted it to be partisan in sharing, meaning on equal basis. We have 85% of the parliament members and they want to be equal to us. The reason is that " " They want the elections not to be declared but on condition that two thirds of the3 members sign on it and that would lead to vacuum in the country and we will be like Lebanon."

Bajammal said "In 2006 we gave them 46% of committees and we 54% and when we submitted the idea of re-nomination of the commission members provider that dialogue on the law of elections under more guarantees they refused. This means looking for creation of a vacuum. The present SCER's term expired on 17 of this month and this is a dangerous issue we have to call the attention to it."

On the other aspects of the dialogue the GPC Secretary General asserted the GPC defined a percentage of 15% to be allocated to the woman of the parliament seats on condition the percentage must be fixed legally rather than in accord between the parties, but that was categorically refused by the JMP except for the Yemen Socialist Party that accepted the percentage due to its non-Islamic orientation.

Bajammal said the issue of the press and its law and discussion of problems of journalists and the parties were not tackled in the dialogue and the JMP did not accept talking on them.

On the other hand Bajammal praised the stand of the Sons of Yemen League Party (RAY) of which he said it is more unionist in its tendency that the YSP at present and that is evident in their dealing with the draft constitutional amendments proposed by the president of the republic and its presentation of a document on constitutional amendments regarding the local rule and the presidential system. He has also praised the stand of the Yemeni Unionist Assemblage that also presented a draft similar to that of the GPC.