Sana’a: Yemen’s parliament on Thursday approved a new government with a comfortable majority following months of violence and political wrangling.
The 301-seat chamber’s vote came two days after loyalists of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh derailed a vote of confidence on the government during a raucous session.
The legislature did not release a tally, but more than 200 lawmakers were present and the vote, by show of hands, suggested a large majority approved the 36-member government led by Khalid Bahah.
Parliament’s approval of the new government should help ease tensions, but it’s unlikely to resolve the power struggle between President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Al Houthi rebels who seized control of the capital Sana’a in September and are allied with Saleh loyalists.
Al Houthis had pressed Hadi to form a new government that would give them more say in the country’s political affairs. Widely thought to be aided by Iran, they have become the nation’s main power brokers since they overran the capital.
Al Houthis surrounded the Defence Ministry and packed nearby streets on Tuesday, preventing the minister from reaching his office. A day earlier, the minister had evicted the rebels from around the ministry for preventing his chief of staff from entering.
Wrangling over the make-up of the new government, as well as Al Houthis’ military expansion around the capital and in other strategic provinces, has driven Yemen deeper into turmoil.
Saleh and his loyalists, who form the majority in parliament, have called on the government to explicitly denounce UN sanctions against the former leader and two top Al Houthi leaders. Bahah’s government has vowed to respect the sanctions.
Last month, the UN Security Council approved an asset freeze and a global travel ban on Saleh, the rebel group’s military commander Abdul Khaliq Al Houthi, and the Al Houthis’ second-in-command, Abdullah Yahya Al Hakim.
