Shortly after the fall of the Ben Ali government in Tunisia, the Saleh regime announced a package of economic concessions designed to pacify growing demands. It sought to maintain the allegiance of the military and security forces by announcing pay raises and even access to free food and gas. It addressed the concerns of civil servants by putting into immediate effect salary increases for the lowest paid employees originally scheduled for October 2011. It cut the national income tax by half and reportedly increased some subsidies and introduced new price controls. The government also waved university tuition fees for currently enrolled students and announced a scheme to help new university graduates find employment. Finally, it extended social welfare assistance to an additional half-million families.
When economic measures failed to quell the discontent, President Saleh turned to political concessions—apparently in response to encouragement, if not urging, from Washington. In a speech to the parliament and shura council on February 2, he announced that he would not stand for re-election in 2013 and that his eldest son and presumed heir, General Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, commander of the Republican Guard, would also not run for president. He “froze” the implementation of a controversial constitutional amendment eliminating term limits on the presidency.
Saleh also stated that regional governors would now be directly elected rather than indirectly elected by local councils, a little noticed but important change. Yemeni stability will depend in large part on greater local autonomy and de-evolution of control from the capital to the governorates, which will require stronger leaders at the local level. And finally, he called for the formation of a national unity government and the re-launching of the stalled national dialogue process, and postponed parliamentary elections scheduled for this April to allow time to properly prepare.
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