Agreement on the proclamation of the Republic of Yemen and arrangements for the
transitional period
"The Sana'a Accord"
- 22 April, 1990 The Yemeni homeland is in the
process of full preparation for rebuilding its unity and establishing the unified state,
as witnessed at all levels of the Yemeni arena - leadership, government, administration,
popular organisations, trade unions and general public - in activities to implement the
historic Aden Agreement of 30 November last year (1989).
IN CONTINUATION of the sincere and earnest deliberations
that took place between the two national leaders seeking to consolidate their
single-minded desire to guide unionist action, to confirm the duty and responsibility of
all those in command at whatever level, to preserve the steps and measures towards unity
in the transitional period, to establish the unified state;
IN APPRECIATION by the leadership of everything that has
been presented at the national level by way of discussions and dialogues aimed primarily
at serving the cause of national unity in general;
IN VIEW of the need, after the establishment of the
Republic of Yemen, for a transitional period which will be finite but sufficient to
embrace the process of preparing the future of the Yemeni state and holding general
elections for the House of Representatives, while ensuring that the constitution of the
single state and constitutional legitimacy prevail without resorting to disregarding or
amending the constitution on the part of any agency which has not been granted the right
to amend it;
IN AFFIRMATION that the virtuous task of unionist
construction is based on national foundations which are under-pinned by the immortal
revolutions of September and October, and arises from nationalist, Islamic and human
origins;
Sana'a witnessed the first meeting of the full leaderships
of the Yemeni homeland as represented by brothers General Ali Abdullah Salih (President of
the Republic, General Commander of the Armed Forces and Secretary-General of the General
People's Congress), and Ali Salim al-Baid (Secretary-General of the Central Committee of
the Yemen Socialist Party), the chairman of the Consultative Council, the chairman of the
presidential organisation of the Supreme People's Council, the Prime Minister, members of
the Politburo, the General Committee and the Consultative Council, together with a number
of members of the presidential organisation of the Supreme People's Council, the
Consultative Council and the two governments, the Central Committee of the Yemen Socialist
Party and the Permanent Committee of the General People's Congress, and senior civilian
and military officials, as shown in the attached list, from 24 to 27 Ramadan AH 1410
(equivalent to 19-22 April 1990).
Between the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's
Democratic Republic of Yemen (the two parts of the Yemeni homeland) there will be total
unity and amalgamation under which the national identity of both will be dissolved into a
single national identity known as the Republic of Yemen, and the Republic of Yemen will
have single legislative, administrative and judicial authorities.
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Article (2) After implementation of this agreement
the Republic of Yemen will have a presidential council for the transitional period,
comprising five persons who will elect from among themselves at their first meeting a
chairman and vice-chairman of the presidential council for the period of its term. The
presidential council will be formed by means of election at a joint meeting of the
presidential commission of the Supreme People's Council and the Consultative Council. The
presidential council will take the constitutional oath immediately prior to its business.
Upon its election, the presidential council will immediately exercise all the prerogatives
bestowed on the presidential council in the constitution.
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Article (3) The transitional period is limited to
two years and six months from the date of implementation of this agreement, and during
this period the House of Representatives will consist of all members of the Shura Council
and Supreme People's Council, in addition to 31 members decreed by the presidential
council, and the House of Representatives will exercise all the powers granted to it in
the constitution other than electing the presidential council and amending the
constitution. In the event that the seat of any member of the House of Representatives
becomes vacant for any reason, the presidential council will fill the vacancy by
appointment.
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Article (4) The presidential council, at its first
meeting, will issue a decree forming a consultative council of 45 members and will define
the council's function in the same decree.
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Article (5) The presidential council will form the
government of the Republic of Yemen which will assume all the powers granted to the
government in accordance with the constitution.
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Article (6) The presidential council, at its first
meeting, will assign a technical team to present ideas on the review of the apportionment
of administration for the Republic of Yemen so as to ensure the strengthening of national
unity and the removal of the effects of partition.
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Article (7) The presidential council is granted the
power to issue decrees which have the force of law regarding the emblem of the republic,
its flag and the national anthem, and the presidential council will be entrusted with
taking the decision at its first meeting to call the House of Representatives into session
so that it may resolve the following:
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to ratify as laws the decrees promulgated by the
presidential council;
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to grant the confidence of the house to the government in
the light of the statement which it will present;
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to charge the presidential council with submitting the
constitution to the general popular referendum before 20 November, 1990;
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to enact the basic laws which the presidential council will
present to it.
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Article (8) This agreement will become operative
only after its ratification and ratification of the draft constitution for the Republic of
Yemen by both the Shura Council and the People's Council.
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Article (9) This agreement is regarded as applying
to the whole of the transitional period, and the rules of the constitution of the Republic
of Yemen are considered operative during the transitional phase immediately upon
ratification as indicated in the article above and insofar as they do not conflict with
the terms of this agreement.
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Article (10) Ratification of this agreement and the
constitution of the Republic of Yemen by the Shura Council and People's Council is
regarded as repealing the constitution of the two former states.
This agreement was signed in Sana'a on 27 Ramadan AH
1310, equivalent to 22 April 1990.
Ali Salim al-Baid, General Secretary of the Socialist
Party
(General) Ali Abdullah Salih, President of the Republic,
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Secretary of the General People's Congress
[Translated from: al-Ashmawy, Ibrahim: al-Wahida
al-Yamaniyya bil 'Ayuun al-'Arabiyya. al-Thawabit, Sana'a, 1991.] |