Senate Grants Green Light to US Support for Coalition in Yemen

Hadi meets with Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Yemen on Thursday (Saba news agency)
Hadi meets with Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Yemen on Thursday (Saba news agency)
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Senate Grants Green Light to US Support for Coalition in Yemen

Hadi meets with Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Yemen on Thursday (Saba news agency)
Hadi meets with Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Yemen on Thursday (Saba news agency)

The US Senate on Tuesday upheld a veto issued last month by President Donald Trump on a bill that Congress had passed to end Washington’s military assistance to the Arab Coalition in Yemen.

The Senate voted 53 to 45 to override Trump's veto. But 67 votes are needed to do so in the 100-member chamber.

In early April, lawmakers in both the House and Senate passed a legislation, activating for the first time a 1973 law that gives Congress the power to end US military interventions it did not authorize.

However, Trump blocked the bill, calling it an "unnecessary, dangerous attempt" to weaken his authority.

With the new Senate move, the United States will continue to assist Saudi-led forces in Yemen.

Meanwhile in Riyadh, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi deeply appreciated Saudi Arabia's unlimited support for Yemen, highly praising the Kingdom's substantial contribution to humanitarian efforts and the development drive in the country.

Hadi’s statement came during a meeting Thursday with Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and General Supervisor of the Saudi Program for Development and Reconstruction in Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber.

Hadi asked the Saudi Ambassador to convey his greetings to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Saudi diplomat reiterated the Kingdom's principled stance in supporting the legitimacy in Yemen at different international forums and peace efforts in line with the three terms of references and UN resolutions.

Last week, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that a ministerial meeting of the Yemen quartet held in London discussed the need for the Yemeni government and Houthi militias to implement the Hodeidah agreement by May 15, ahead of a UN Security Council session on Yemen.

Earlier, UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths announced that the legitimate government and Houthis have accepted a detailed redeployment plan in Hodeidah, and that his team was working on resolving the final outstanding issues related to the operational plans for phase two, redeployments and also the issue of the status of local security forces.



Tunisia Groups Urge Inclusion of Rejected Candidates in Poll

FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
TT

Tunisia Groups Urge Inclusion of Rejected Candidates in Poll

FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo

A petition signed by prominent Tunisians and civil society groups was published on Saturday urging that rejected candidates be allowed to stand in the October 6 presidential election, Agence France Presse reported.

Signed by 26 groups including Legal Agenda, Lawyers Without Borders and the Tunisian Human Rights League, it welcomed an administrative court decision this week to reinstate three candidates who had been disqualified.

They are Imed Daimi, who was an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki, former minister Mondher Zenaidi and opposition party leader Abdellatif Mekki.

The three were among 14 candidates barred by the Tunisian election authority, ISIE, from standing in the election.

If they do take part, they will join former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Ayachi Zammel in challenging incumbent President Kais Saied.

Saturday's petition was also signed by more than 180 civil society figures including Wahid Ferchichi, dean of the public law faculty at Carthage University.

It called the administrative court "the only competent authority to adjudicate disputes related to presidential election candidacies.”

The petition referred to statements by ISIE head Farouk Bouasker, who on Thursday indicated that the authority will soon meet to finalize the list of candidates, "taking into consideration judicial judgements already pronounced.”

This has been interpreted as suggesting the ISIE may reject new candidacies if they are the subject of legal proceedings or have convictions.

The administrative court's rulings on appeals "are enforceable and cannot be contested by any means whatsoever,” the petition said.

It called on the electoral authority to "respect the law and avoid any practice that could undermine the transparency and integrity of the electoral process.”