Yemen's Houthi group faces objection in takeover of power

Yemen's major political parties announced on Saturday their rejection to the "constitutional declaration" made by the Shiite Houthi group one day ago to take over power of the country by dissolving the parliament and forming a new government.

The Houthi group announced Friday the formation of a presidential council comprised of five members and a transition national council comprised of 551 members to replace the presidency and parliament, a move further deepens the chaos after Yemen's president and premier submitted resignation last month.

Major political parties in Yemen announced on Saturday their rejection to the Houthi's unilateral move.

The former ruling party, General People's Congress that dominated the parliament, of Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullash Saleh expressed "regret" in an official statement, saying the Houthi's declaration is against the peaceful political transition in the country.

The second biggest party in the parliament, the Sunni-dominated Islah that leads the country's main opposition coalition, said the Houthis turned against the talks sponsored by UN envoy Jamal Benomar which were about to reach a national consensus to resolve the current crisis.

Islah said it rejects to such a unilateral move, as the national consensus is the only way to resolve the crisis.

Meanwhile, leaders of the military and local authorities in Yemen's southern provinces announced on Saturday their rejection to any orders coming from the country's capital Sanaa after the Houthi group dissolved the presidency and parliament.

High-ranking military and security officials in charge of organizing the government affairs in the southern provinces of Aden, Abyan, Lahj, Hadramout, Shabwa, and al-Dhalea held a meeting in Aden, accusing the Houthi group of taking unilateral move.

"Governors and officials of the local authorities across the southern provinces strongly denounce the so called constitutional declaration by the Houthi militias," they said in a statement.

The illegitimate declaration was a dangerous escalation by the Houthi group against the state institutions and the constitution legitimacy, the statement said.

On Friday night, the Supreme Security Committee in Aden put the police and army troops on high alert and deployed additional armored vehicles across the main southern province.

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah submitted their resignations late last month amid a standoff with the Houthi group which has controlled the capital since September 2014.

Yemen's political parties have been holding consultations brokered by U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar for more than two weeks, aiming to reach a consensus to fill the power vacuum.

Benomar returned to Sanaa on Saturday after a one-day visit to Riyadh.

On Thursday, negotiators said they initially agreed to form an interim presidential council to run the country for a year, but failed to reach a consensus on the council members, legitimacy of President Haid and the parliament, and status of the army.

The parliament is due to hold a session to vote on Hadi's resignation, which, however, was delayed indefinitely.

On Sunday, the Houthi group proposed a three-day ultimatum for a solution to end the current political crisis, otherwise it would take "necessary steps" if "peaceful transfer of power" fails.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) released a statement on Saturday that rejected Houthis' takeover of Yemen and warned of steps to protect its members' interests.

In a meeting in Riyagh, the six-nation bloc comprising energy-rich Gulf states said it will continue to stand with the Yemenis, and denounced the Houthi group's move as a coup which would end the peaceful political process in Yemen.

"This Houthi coup is a dangerous escalation which we reject and is unacceptable. It totally contradicts the spirit of pluralism and coexistence which Yemen has known," the GCC statement said.

The GCC warned that the latest developments will lead to more violence and bloodshed in Yemen, and called upon international community to take responsibility by denouncing it, especially the UN Security Council.

The Shiite Houthi group, also known as Ansarullah and based in the far northern province of Saada, has been expanding their influence southward after signing a UN-sponsored peace and power-sharing deal on Sept. 21, 2014 following week-long deadly clashes.

The impoverished country has been facing rising secessionism and plots by al-Qaida terror networks in the south. It has also suffered persistent unrest since 2011 when mass protests unseated former president Saleh in 2012.

After Hadi took over power from Saleh in 2012, his government has failed to implement substantial political and military reforms, not to mention promoting reconciliation among various political factions. Endit