Houthi ‘Parliament’ Strips Status of 44 Legitimate MPs

Arab World

April 7th, 5:30am

Sanaa – Asharq Al-Awsat

A general view of the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen on March 27, 2018. (Reuters)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias have again committed constitutional violations against Yemeni lawmakers residing in regions outside their control. The illegal Sanaa-based Houthi parliament stripped this week the parliamentary status of 44 legitimate MPs on the bogus charges of opposing their coup and condemning the militias’ ongoing crimes against the Yemeni people. The Houthis forced its loyalist lawmakers to convene in order to strip the membership of the MPs, who support the legitimate government. Parliamentary sources in Sanaa dismissed the Houthi move as illegal and unconstitutional. They explained that the Houthis are seeking to fill vacant parliamentary spots with figures who are loyal to them and who come from the same family line as their leader. The move was widely condemned among the dismissed MPs, people and even pro-Houthi lawmakers. They said the move was an extension of the Houthis’ previous crimes against MPs who are living in areas beyond their control. Anti-coup MP Ahmed Seif Hashed condemned the move as a flagrant violation of the constitution and law. Moreover, he noted that the parliamentary meeting that was held to dismiss the membership of the MPs lacked the necessary quorum, rendering the move null and void. In a series of tweets, he explained that the dismissal of MPs requires the majority of lawmakers to be present, not a minority. It needs more than 120 members to be present, not 90, who included 25 who were recently illegally appointed by the Houthis. In late 2019, the Houthis stripped 35 lawmakers of their membership for being opposed to their coup. The MPs had taken part in a landmark meeting for the legitimate parliament in Seiyun city. In 2020, the Houthis lifted the parliamentary immunity of 12 lawmakers, who are opposed to the militias.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2904616/houthi-%E2%80%98parliament%E2%80%99-strips-status-44-legitimate-mps