A woman takes photograph of a demonstration demanding the ouster of Yemen\'s President Yemeni rivals stuck to their guns ahead of a scheduled hearing of the US Congress to the administration\'s policy towards Yemen later yesterday. Senior officials of Yemen\'s ruling party stressed that any transfer of power should be through dialogue and elections. However, the opposition said before any talks can begin Yemen\'s President Ali Abdullah Saleh must step down.
\"We expect from the Americans and everyone else to respect the constitution, to boost democracy [in Yemen], to further push for the elections to be the way for a peaceful transfer of power,\" said Tarek Al Shami, spokesperson of ruling party General People\'s Congress (GPC).
\"We have no problem with the presence of international poll observers,\" Al Shami told Gulf News.
Later yesterday, a senate foreign affairs subcommittee was scheduled to hold a session to hear from the Barack Obama administration officials about the US policy towards Yemen.
Obama was reportedly urging Saleh to \"expedite his pledge to sign the GCC-brokered agreement for a peaceful transition in Yemen,\" according to a White House statement.
The GCC accord requires Saleh to step down within 30 days of it being signed and hand power over to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The handover would be followed by elections.
Yemeni cities have been witnessing daily protests since January and hundreds of people have been killed in clashes with security forces. Saleh, and several senior officials escaped with serious injuries in the attack on the presidential complex on June 3. All were flown to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
Responding to a question on the authority\'s call for dialogue, Abu Bakr Batheeb, Assistant Secretary-General of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), said as far as the leading opposition parties are concerned the issue is not of holding a dialogue.
\"The focal issue is the transfer of power according to the GCC-brokered initiative. Afterwards, all other issues, including the formation of a government, holding elections, can be discussed,\" Batheeb told Gulf News.
\"The only exit is through power transfer. As for the dialogue, we have spent years and years talking without any outcome. Nobody is convinced that the dialogue will lead to a result,\" Batheeb said.
Yet, Yemeni opposition is willing to enter into a dialogue with the government, but only after there is a transfer of power, he said.
Meanwhile, continuous clashes between government forces and Al Qaida supporters in the southern city of Zinjibar, Abyan\'s capital, has led to nearly 70,000 people fleeing to neighbouring areas.gulfnews .