| federalization of Yemen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Category | Federated state |
| Location | Yemen |
| Government | |
TheFederalization of Yemen is the proposed transformation ofYemen from aunitary state to afederal state. Driven by the significanteconomic,religious,political, andhistorical differences between the northern and southern parts as well as the southern and eastern regions of the country, federalization has been a common and controversial proposal to resolve regionalist tensions since theunification of the country in 1990, It may also extend to the union of theSouth Arabia withHadhramaut in 1967.[1][2]
In 1962, theBritishAden Protectorate was transformed into theFederation of South Arabia, which initially contained 15 states, After theProtectorate of South Arabia (Eastern) refused to join the new Federal union. The country becameSouth Yemen, a unitary state, in 1967.[3] After South Yemen unified withNorth Yemen in 1990, the new government was quickly divided over the issue of decentralization, with theYemeni Socialist Party expressing support for a federal system while theGeneral People's Congress opposed it. While an agreement was eventually reached to decentralize the country, it was largely abandoned following the outbreak ofa civil war in 1994.[4] Decentralization continued to find popularity among members of the Yemeni opposition, and the opposition coalition known as theJoint Meeting Parties expressed interest in federalism in 2009.[3]
The 2013–2014National Dialogue Conference concluded that Yemen would adopt federalism in an attempt to resolve thepolitical crisis that began with theYemeni Revolution in 2011. Under the federal system, Yemen's official name would become theFederal Republic of Yemen.[5] A committee organized by Yemeni PresidentAbdrabbuh Mansur Hadi determined that Yemen would be split into six federal regions: Azal,Saba,Tihama, Aden, Janad, andHadhramaut.[6] Azal, Saba, Janad and Tihama would have been northern provinces whereas Aden and Hadhramaut would have been southern.[7]Sana’a, the capital, was to become afederal city and would not have been part of any region.Aden, the former capital of South Yemen, would have been a part of the Aden region, but would have had special legislative and executive powers.[8] Each region was to be further divided into states, which would have taken the place of Yemen's existinggovernorates.[3] The conclusions of the Conference formed the basis of a new constitution, which was to be put to a referendum in 2015.[2]
The plan for a six-region federation received international praise, but was denounced by many within Yemen.[9] TheSouthern Movement suspected that the division of the south into two regions was an attempt to turn southern secessionists against each other; they preferred a two-region division between the north and the south. TheZaidi elites in the Azal region would have been left with almost no natural resources, whereas the sparsely populated Saba and Hadhramaut regions would have received nearly all of the country's natural resources.[10] Meanwhile, theHouthis were outraged that the plan would have landlocked their home governorate ofSaada. The referendum on the new federal constitution was indefinitely delayed by the intensification of theYemeni Civil War in 2015.[2] Some commentators have cited Hadi's federalization plan as one of the main causes of the civil war.[10]
On 20 June 2023, theNational Hadhrami Council was formed marking the first steps for the transformation.
| Federal region | Flag | Governorates |
|---|---|---|
| Aden |  | Aden,Abyan,Lahij,Dhale |
| Azal |  | Sanaa,'Amran,Dhamar,Saada |
| Hadhramaut |  | Hadhramaut,Mahra,Shabwah,Socotra Archipelago |
| Janad | .svg) | Taiz,Ibb |
| Sheba | .svg) | Ma'rib,Al Bayda,Al Jawf |
| Tihama | .svg) | Al Hudaydah,Raymah,Al Mahwit,Hajjah |
