Yemen's Ruling Party and Opposition Coalition to Sign Deal in Riyadh soon

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

Sana'a, Apr 26, 2011- Yemen's opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties, JMP, and the ruling General People Congress party will soon sign in Saudi Arabia a deal brokered by Gulf Cooperation Council for the President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down within a month and to have peaceful transition power.

Mohammed Salem Bassindwa, head of opposition's national dialogue council, told media outlets that he expected soon to sign the initiative by the Gulf Cooperation Council.

"We have approved the Gulf Arab initiative and the signing of the agreement will take place in the next 24 hours," he said.

Yesterday evening, Yemen's opposition coalition accepted the latest political deal brokered by Arab diplomats to remove President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power in exchange for immunity for himself and his relatives, clearing the way for the country’s first political transition in its modern history.

The proposed deal has the backing of the United States and Yemen’s Arab neighbors including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Diplomats from these nations lobbied both sides over the weekend to accept the deal, amid increasing worry that the widespread Al Qaeda networks that have taken refuge in Yemen will capitalize on the country’s political crisis to launch new terrorist attacks.

Under the deal, the president is obligated to hand over power to his vice president 30 days after the plan is formally accepted by the leader and the umbrella group of opposition parties.

On Saturday, the ruling party announced that President Ali Abdullah Saleh accepted to hand over power within a month.