SANAA, 11 May 2003 — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday asked caretaker Prime Minister Abdul-Qader Bagammal to form a new government following elections in which Saleh’s ruling party retained its parliamentary majority.
A government official told Reuters that Bagammal would consult with Saleh about the new Cabinet, which will be formed from members of the ruling General People’s Congress (GPC), as was the outgoing government.
The outgoing Cabinet, formed in 2001, resigned after last month’s poll and officials said Saleh had asked it to act as a caretaker government until a new Cabinet is formed. It was not immediately clear when Bagammal would present his new government.
The elections committee has yet to officially announce the final results of the April 27 polls, but sources said that Saleh’s GPC won at least 225 seats in the 301-seat Parliament, followed by the Islamist opposition Islah Party, headed by Parliament Speaker Abdullah Al-Ahmar, with at least 46 seats.
Bagammal was appointed prime minister in 2001 in a Cabinet reshuffle aimed at pushing reforms in the country.
