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Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat suffered defeat in the Palestinian parliament Monday, with legislators rejecting his demand that a Cabinet formed by a future prime minister be "presented" to the Palestinian leader.
In a show of hands, legislators voted 49 to 22 against the amendment to the prime minister's bill, one of several changes proposed by Arafat.
The vote raised the possibility of delay in installing a credible prime
minister - a precondition cited last week by U.S. President George W. Bush for unveiling the U.S.-backed "road map" for peace in the Middle East.
Arafat would have needed a two-thirds majority in the 88-member parliament to get the amendments approved - or the parliament would have had to reject the proposed changes by two-thirds to force Arafat to sign the legislation into law.
Arafat and parliament will now have to try to reach a compromise - a possibly time-consuming process.
The Palestinian Legislative Council convened Monday morning in Ramallah to ratify a new version of the Basic Law that created the role of the Palestinian Authority prime minister, amidst demands by some members that greater powers be invested in the post.
The earlier version of the law was amended by Arafat and lawyers from the PA Justice Ministry so as to keep the PA president head of the executive branch and not reduced to a symbolic role.
Significantly, Abu Mazen, who has been appointed by Arafat to fill the newly-created position but has yet to formally accept the appointment, was not present at the legislative session.
The new version of the law is also believed to create two deputy premiers, who would be appointed by Arafat and required to report to him on a regular basis about the matters before the government. The new law would also empower Arafat to attend all cabinet-level meeting and to receive, in advance, the agenda for cabinet meetings.
The new law that the PLC was being asked to ratify means that Arafat is refusing to accept a fully-empowered premier.
Last week saw the proposal of an earlier draft of the law that would have shifted most of the powers of the PA chairman to the prime minister, but would have left the title of commander-in-chief in Arafat's hands. Arafat would also have maintained the authority to fire the prime minister and ministers.
That law passed two readings with a large majority and it appeared last week that Arafat aimed to approve it when he asked the Justice Ministry to conduct a review. But it turned out that he wanted the law changed.
A key issue in dispute between Abu Mazen and Arafat concerns who will appoint the next interior minister, who has responsibility over the security services in the PA. Arafat is still insisting that some of the existing security forces - such as the General Intelligence force, and the National Security force - remain directly subordinate to him following the reforms in the rest of the Palestinian security mechanisms.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/273745.html
In a show of hands, legislators voted 49 to 22 against the amendment to the prime minister's bill, one of several changes proposed by Arafat.
The vote raised the possibility of delay in installing a credible prime
minister - a precondition cited last week by U.S. President George W. Bush for unveiling the U.S.-backed "road map" for peace in the Middle East.
Arafat would have needed a two-thirds majority in the 88-member parliament to get the amendments approved - or the parliament would have had to reject the proposed changes by two-thirds to force Arafat to sign the legislation into law.
Arafat and parliament will now have to try to reach a compromise - a possibly time-consuming process.
The Palestinian Legislative Council convened Monday morning in Ramallah to ratify a new version of the Basic Law that created the role of the Palestinian Authority prime minister, amidst demands by some members that greater powers be invested in the post.
The earlier version of the law was amended by Arafat and lawyers from the PA Justice Ministry so as to keep the PA president head of the executive branch and not reduced to a symbolic role.
Significantly, Abu Mazen, who has been appointed by Arafat to fill the newly-created position but has yet to formally accept the appointment, was not present at the legislative session.
The new version of the law is also believed to create two deputy premiers, who would be appointed by Arafat and required to report to him on a regular basis about the matters before the government. The new law would also empower Arafat to attend all cabinet-level meeting and to receive, in advance, the agenda for cabinet meetings.
The new law that the PLC was being asked to ratify means that Arafat is refusing to accept a fully-empowered premier.
Last week saw the proposal of an earlier draft of the law that would have shifted most of the powers of the PA chairman to the prime minister, but would have left the title of commander-in-chief in Arafat's hands. Arafat would also have maintained the authority to fire the prime minister and ministers.
That law passed two readings with a large majority and it appeared last week that Arafat aimed to approve it when he asked the Justice Ministry to conduct a review. But it turned out that he wanted the law changed.
A key issue in dispute between Abu Mazen and Arafat concerns who will appoint the next interior minister, who has responsibility over the security services in the PA. Arafat is still insisting that some of the existing security forces - such as the General Intelligence force, and the National Security force - remain directly subordinate to him following the reforms in the rest of the Palestinian security mechanisms.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/273745.html
