Yemeni President Cedes Powers to New Leadership Council

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Asharq Al-Awsat
Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Yemeni President Cedes Powers to New Leadership Council

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Asharq Al-Awsat
Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Asharq Al-Awsat

Yemen's president said on Thursday he has dismissed Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and delegated his own powers to a presidential council that will carry out leadership duties.

The new body will assume the duties of both the president and his deputy, said a statement from President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi delivered by Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani.

The leadership council, made up of a chair and seven deputy chairmen, will be led by Rashad Al-Alimi. Deputy chairs include the leader of the Southern Transitional Council Aidarous al-Zubaidi.

The chairman and members of the council are committed to the principle of collective responsibility and their quest to achieve the highest degree of consensus among them.

The new presidential leadership council would assume the duties of the president and his deputy and carry out political, military, and security duties for the Yemeni government.

It would also seek adopting a balanced foreign policy that achieves the supreme national interests of the state and builds it on the basis of independence and common interests in a manner that preserves the sovereignty, security and borders of the state.

Moreover, the council will facilitate the government’s exercise of its powers with its full powers throughout the transitional phase. It will also help by adopting the necessary policies to enhance security and combat terrorism throughout Yemen.

The council would also seek the formation of the joint security and military committee to achieve security and stability by adopting policies that would prevent the occurrence of any armed confrontations in all parts of the country.

It would also create the needed conditions and take the necessary steps to achieve the integration of the armed forces under a unified national command structure within the framework of the rule of law.

The council would also work to end divisions in the armed forces and all armed conflicts. It will also establish a national doctrine for members of the army and security services.

Apart from its efforts to enhance stability and security, the council would also promote equality among citizens.



Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
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Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French envoy shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
Aoun's election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon's system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the Lebanese army since 2017.