SANAA
Yemen's Shiite Houthi group on Sunday invited the members of the country's dissolved parliament to join a national assembly expected to be created in the coming few days in the light of a constitutional declaration the Houthis announced on Friday.
It said in a statement that ex-lawmakers who wanted to join the new assembly had to head to the parliament building in capital Sanaa for registration.
It added that the Friday constitutional declaration stipulated that the members of the dissolved parliament had the right to join the new national assembly.
Yemen's Houthis emerged as a formidable political and military force in Yemen after assuming control of capital Sanaa in September of 2014 before moving on to establish control over other parts of the country.
On Friday, the Houthi group issued what it called a "constitutional declaration", dissolving parliament and establishing a 551-member "transitional council."
According to the declaration, pro-Houthi "revolutionary committees" will form a transitional council to replace the dissolved parliament.
The transitional council will then elect a five-member presidential council tasked with running the nation's affairs for a two-year transitional period and drawing up a government of "technocrats."
The declaration was, however, rejected by most of Yemen's political forces and neighboring countries and described as a "coup" against the country's constitutional legitimacy.
Fractious Yemen has remained in the throes of turmoil since autocratic President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in 2012 following a months-long popular uprising against his 33-year rule.
