Saleh to Cede Negotiations Role to Yemen’s Hadi, Party Says

The politburo of Yemen’s ruling party agreed that President Ali Abdullah Saleh can issue a decree allowing the vice president to negotiate with the opposition, a party member said.

The decree will give the “necessary constitutional power” to Vice President Abduraboo Mansur Hadi to hold talks with the opposition, which agreed to a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered plan on a power transfer in Yemen, Sultan al-Barakani, assistant secretary general of the ruling General People’s Congress, said in a phone interview today.

The transition plan is aimed at halting six months of unrest and ensuing economic decline in the Arab world’s poorest country, which has been used as a base by al-Qaeda.

The objective of the talks “is to agree on a timeline for the GCC to implement a mechanism, under regional and international supervision, to lead to an early presidential election,” al-Barakani said. “The election date can be agreed on in a way to ensure a peaceful and democratic transfer of power.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at lnasseri@bloomberg.net; Mohammed Hatem in Dubai at mhatem1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net.