Tuesday Papers

Mareb Press is reporting that there is an initial deal or rather the framework of an initial deal to delay parliamentary elections for two years. This is not all that surprising, given that the JMP has consistently said it was going to boycott the elections. The GPC has responded by saying that it wanted to hold elections in keeping with the constitutional framework. Also, it added, there were a number of parties willing to take part in the election even if the JMP was not. But those parties are essentially clones of the GPC.

The EU’s decision not to observe and validate the elections if the JMP did not participate also gave the latter a bit more leverage. There had been rumors that a number of Islah candidates were planning to run as independents if there was an official boycott – this would have spelled bad news for Muhammad al-Yadumi, who took over control of the party after Shaykh ‘Abdullah’s death back in December 2007. And like ‘Abdullah’s sons, al-Yadumi has struggled to gain control over the different patronage and political networks that the old man had mastered.

I have been hearing rumors about the two year time period for a while, so we’ll see if we can get this confirmed by some official sources in the next day or so.

The AP is reporting on a cell, supposedly linked to al0-Qaeda, that was convicted of plotting attacks and sentenced up to seven years.