While debate is still ongoing over the formation of the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER), several women organizations including Yemeni Women Union, the National Committee for Woman and Sisters Forum called on President Ali Abdullah Saleh for issuing a resolution that enables women politically.

They demanded that women not be excluded from the would-be committee especially when Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) and General People Congress (GPC) did not reach an agreeable form for its establishment.

Saleh in his turn referred the women's request to the Political Dialogue Committee to be included among the points negotiated by JMP and GPC.

The letter sent to President Saleh not only asked for a representation in SCER but also for adopting the quota system in parliamentary and local elections.  

In related news, the International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES) organized on Sunday a symposium entitled the "General Finance of Politics in Uprising Democracies in the 21st Century".

The participants were briefed on experiences of regional, international and Arab countries concerning the formation of elections committees as well as their authorities.

Different papers were presented during the symposium and they revealed part of the existing differences between the political players and their opinions regarding the formation of SCER.

IFES representative in Yemen stated the symposium aimed to identify participants with the means for ensuring fair contest during the forthcoming elections and the manner for guaranteeing finance subject to accountability and transparency.

These activities and symposiums are timed with a long-lasting debate over the formation of SCER between the GPC and JMP, a debate that caused parliament to postpone the discussion of amendments dictating establishing SCER from judges under directives from President Saleh.

JMP representatives and blocs at parliament started weeks ago boycotting parliament sessions. JMP also expressed its unhappiness over the attempts to involve parliament with the current political crisis, hinting this turns it to be part of the problem and not the solution.

They also accused the ruling party of trying to pass on the elections law outside the national reconciliation and away from the political players, with whom it signed bilateral agreements, demanding the minimum limit for guaranteeing free, fair and impartial elections.

For its part, the ruling party accused JMP of getting over the signed agreements, hinting they are to blame for asking the bloc representatives to withdraw and delay the discussion of election law amendments. Thus, it demanded parliament to work as per its constitutional authorities to form the SCER and bridge the constitutional gap.