Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has authorised his deputy to negotiate a power transfer with the opposition, finally agreeing to a proposal by Gulf countries to put an end to a months-long political crisis.
Saleh, who has been absent from the country for more than three months, "has given the vice-president, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, the necessary constitutional authority to negotiate" the power transfer mechanism with the opposition, the state news agency SABA said on Monday.
The presidential decree authorises Hadi to sign on Saleh's behalf the so-called Gulf Initiative, which was proposed by the
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six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and calls for a power transfer.
Hadi can "agree on a time-frame and sign" the agreement, according to the decree.
Saleh, who has ruled Yemen since 1978 and has been recovering in Saudi Arabia from a June 3 attack on his presidential compound, also authorised Hadi to begin preparations for early presidential elections to be carried out under regional and international supervision.
Since his departure three months ago, Saleh had refused to hand over powers to his deputy or sign the Gulf Initiative.
Widespread anti-government protests have swept the impoverished Gulf state since January, triggering rampant chaos and violence throughout the country, particularly in the southern provinces where al-Qaeda linked militants have seized control of three towns.
