Yemeni Government Accuses STC of Impeding Its Return to Aden

Cars drive on a road linking two neighborhoods of Aden, Yemen August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo
Cars drive on a road linking two neighborhoods of Aden, Yemen August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo
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Yemeni Government Accuses STC of Impeding Its Return to Aden

Cars drive on a road linking two neighborhoods of Aden, Yemen August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo
Cars drive on a road linking two neighborhoods of Aden, Yemen August 10, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

The Yemeni internationally recognized government held the Southern Transitional Council (STC) responsible for the delay in its return to the interim capital, Aden.

Pro-STC forces were deployed to impede the return of government officials to Aden, the government said in a statement, adding that the move indicates a lack of responsibility towards implementing the Riyadh Agreement.

The statement stressed that this behavior overlooks the difficult conditions lived by Yemenis who are suffering a lack of services since the events of August, noting that the suffering of Yemenis in Aden has been exacerbated by recent flash floods that drowned the city.

Published by the state-owned Saba news agency, the statement said that impeding the government’s return goes beyond thwarting efforts to implement the Riyadh Agreement and disrupting the work of state institutions.

According to the statement, it also worsens the catastrophe that struck Aden at a time the city needs all efforts to be joined in alleviating the suffering of citizens and working to repair public and private property destroyed by the floods.

"As the government issues this clarification to local and international public opinion, it holds the STC responsible for this reckless behavior and its consequences that effect Aden and the Yemeni people in general,” the statement said.

The government called on all Yemeni components to support the legitimate government headed by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and to stear clear from pursuing personal interests and turning attention to the ethical, national and historical responsibility and to the interests and concerns of the Yemeni people.



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
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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.”