Yemen Govt, Separatists Reach Power-Sharing Agreement

A deal that’s been highly anticipated, the political side of the power-sharing agreement in South Yemen, was finally signed Tuesday, with Saudi and UAE officials present for the ceremony.

The deal comes as part of a resolution of how the Saudi-backed Hadi government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) would govern the south of Yemen going forward.

While everyone agreed in principle to do that, the Hadi government had been dragging their feet on it in a practical sense. The new deal will see a formal government reshuffle, with a new cabinet to be put in place.

Under the deal, the new cabinet will have equal representation for southern groups within the government, highly unusual in a Yemen government historically dominated by northern groups. It is unclear from the statements if equal representation means equal for the STC, or just for the south in general.