Marib.. A political and intellectual symposium on participation in the political process and democratic transformations in Yemen

The Political Department of the General Secretariat of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform held a political symposium in the city of Marib today, Monday, to read about the Reform experience in political participation and democratic transformation, on the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the founding of the Reform.

The symposium was attended by many leaders of political parties, party leaders in Ma'rib Governorate, the September activist Ahmed Qarash, and leaders in the local authority of a number of governorates.

In the first paper of the symposium, the acting head of the political department of the Reform Party, Dr. Ahmed Halah, reviewed the stations in which the Reform Party had a prominent influence, since its establishment, and its efforts in strengthening political pluralism, freedom of opinion and expression, consolidating the values of democracy, and its participation in the electoral process despite the irregularities that marred it.

He noted the historical role and the involvement of its historical symbols since an early time in defending the September 26 Revolution and the republican system, as it constituted one of the pillars of political life, during all its stages and electoral processes, as well as its participation in coalition governments, and its emergence into the ranks of the opposition through the ballot boxes.

His condition touched on the establishment of the Joint Meeting as a bloc for the Yemeni opposition, which represented a real turning point in the map of political alliances, leading to the launch of the comprehensive political and national reform project in 2005, then the 2006 presidential elections, and the National Salvation Document.

He referred to the participation of the Islah Party with its partners in the Joint List in the National Accord Government and in the National Dialogue Conference, with a number of members that does not match its political and popular presence, and its offering of many concessions to make the Dialogue Conference a success, and its continued containment of the behavior of the Houthi militia, and its rejection of their coup against the legitimate authority and national consensus.

In the paper, he highlighted the role of Islah in revitalizing party work in times of war, and its efforts in forming the National Alliance of Political Parties and Forces, to support legitimacy in various fields, and renew its leadership, then its call to establish a broad national bloc, in continuation of its approach based on supporting the formation of broad political alliances, which would be a lever for national issues and priorities.

He renewed Islah's support and backing for establishing peace in Yemen, in accordance with the relevant national, regional and international references, with the withdrawal of weapons from the terrorist Houthi militia, as it is a major cause of the war, and to achieve international security and peace.

In his paper, “Reform and Political Partnership,” Mahmoud Al-Ghabri, a member of the Central Committee of the Yemeni Socialist Party, pointed out the prominent role that the Reform Party has assumed in political life since its founding, and its presence with major and important transformations and changes.

He noted the duality of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform and the Socialist Party in establishing the Joint Meeting, led by the two political leaders, the struggling professor Mohammed Qahtan, who is missing in the prisons of the Houthi militia, and the late professor Jar Allah Omar, as a historical bloc, and the Socialist Party’s realization at the time that there could be no strong opposition unless the Islah was one of its poles, stressing that the national will prevailed with the formation of the Joint Meeting, which represented a lever for political action.

Al-Ghabri called for evaluating the experience of the joint meeting, in which Islah was more mature and productive in terms of its political participation, as well as its role in the national alliance of political parties supporting legitimacy.

Through video call, French political thinker and professor of political science, Professor François Burgat, spoke about the role of reform in enriching political life in Yemen, “an assessment from a Western perspective,” speaking about the historical roots of the symbols of the national reform movement, since the Sacred Charter Revolution in 1948, and the Free Movement that was formed against the Imamate rule, and his unique experience in the region where he combined different political experiences from the north and south.

Burga said that through his observations and presence in the Yemeni arena over the years, he reached many characteristics of the Yemeni Islah Congregation, its history linked to the history of two states, and the uniqueness of its political and social structure that goes beyond opposition and its ability to coexist, noting the role of the political leader Muhammad Qahtan, who played a role in forming political alliances with the late socialist politician, the martyr Jar Allah Omar.

The French political thinker stressed that Islah remained completely open to the Yemeni political scene, and was a unique experience in the Arab region, in addition to its valuable experience and relations with political forces, which influenced political pluralism.

The head of the Red Sea Center for Studies, Mohammed Al-Wals Buhaibeh, presented a working paper in which he evaluated the participation of Islah in political work, the wide presence it achieved, its pioneering efforts in establishing pluralism, and its political and electoral experiences, praising the national and civilized aspect that Islah showed at all stages through the concessions it made, giving priority to the national interest.

Al-Wals stressed the role of reform in restoring the Hanish Islands in the 1990s, its role in supporting civil society organizations, and its response to the injustice of political partners in the 1990s with a high national spirit.

She explained that the reformist woman will continue her role and practice her work in advancing society, preserving national constants and values of equal citizenship, the achievements of the republic and political pluralism, and rejecting dynastic and priestly projects.