News Analysis: Yemen's transition at stake as president, premier submit resignations

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah rendered their resignations on Thursday amid mounting pressure by the Houthi militants who have been tightening their grip on power.

Sultan al-Atwani, one of Hadi's advisors who are among the country's decision-making body, said that Hadi submitted his resignation after the Houthi group pressed him to appoint a vice president from the group.

"Houthis submitted a package of demands to the president, some of which appeared unacceptable, and then threatened to take action if their demands were not met," he said, adding that Hadi affirmed that demands and rights of all factions should be addressed in accordance with the partnership deals and mechanisms rather than by force.

Observers said the resignations of Hadi and the government add to the deepening chaos that bring more uncertainty to the country' s political transition and reconciliation.

POLITICAL MANEUVER

Houthis fought presidential guards in downtown the capital Sanaa on Monday and seized the presidential palace and key military brigades one day later.

Observers said it is likely the parliament would overturn the resignation to avoid a grave power vacuum at the moment, in fear of losing legitimacy itself, the spread of Houthi militia in cities and violence, as well as economic collapse.

The resignation could be a maneuver by Hadi so that he could get rid of Houthi pressure and ensure a deal which will pave the way for him to stay independent without Houthi interventions, they said.

Abdul Salam Muhammad, head of the ABAAD studies and research center, said Yemen is lack of legitimate authorities at a time when militia insist on the use of force to interfere in the decision-making process.

"If Hadi resigns, no one has any legitimacy even the House of Representatives, because the Gulf Initiative suspended the constitution and gave ultimate power to the president," Muhammad said.

"Yemen is facing the fate of a failed state where all scenarios will be likely including conflicts between the Houthi group and the General People's Congress of former president Ali Abdullash Saleh," he said.

The official Saba news agency reported that the parliament will be convened on Hadi's resignation on Sunday, two days delay as the parliament said earlier that its emergency session would be held on Friday.

United Nations envoy Jamal bin Omar who arrived in Sanaa on Thursday evening was meeting with Hadi on the current crisis, trying to convince Hadi to return to office.

The impoverish country has seen persistent unrest since 2011 when mass protests forced former president Ali Abdullash Saleh to step down, which prevented it from conducting parliamentary elections twice.

Hadi took over power from Saleh in 2012 under the Gulf Initiative but failed to implement reforms in the government and army, nor advance reconciliation among political factions.

Yemen has since been facing growing secessionism and al-Qaida networks in the south and armed groups including the powerful Houthi in the north.

POSSIBLE FRAGMENTATION

Right after Hadi and Bahah submitted their resignations, the pro-separatism movements, based in the southern province of Aden, started to defy orders from Sanaa, according to local media.

However, the Supreme Security Committee in Aden announced Wednesday that it closed the provincial city's seaport and international airport in support of the president.

"We strongly condemn Shiite Houthi militia's seizing of the presidential compound and attacks on the symbol of the national sovereignty and constitutional legitimacy, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi," the committee said in a statement.

The end of the political transition process in Yemen will trigger civil and sectarian conflicts amid increasing rejection to the Houthi's use of force as a way to rule the country, observers said.

Najeeb Ghalab, a politics professor at Sanaa University, said power vacuum will deepen and Houthis will use force as they used to face their foes and then conflicts and fragmentation of the country will be inevitable.

"We need a revolution today more than ever before. Only the people can stop the militia's ambitions," Ghalab added.

Muhammad of ABAAD said the power struggle since Monday has not ended with a coup against Hadi, but absence of the central authority would lead to dangerous power struggle between ex- president Saleh and the Houthi group, which may drag the country off the cliff.

"With the fall of the outcomes of the national dialogue conference, it will be difficult to see powerful political alliances and partnership again. Yemen will not see any breakthroughs and, with the current situation, we have conclusion that the international community does not have solutions to our crises," Muhammad said. Endite