STC Media and Culture Head: Information Minister exceeded his Authirty by Touching on Constitutional and Sovereign Issues

Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, Head of the Media and Culture Authority in the General Secretariat of the Presidium of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), expressed his astonishment at the position put forward by the Minister of Information in the government regarding the powers of the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and stressed that touching constitutional and sovereign issues does not fall within the minister's mandate and raises questions about the motives and timing of this position.

In a press statement, Al-Sheikh noted that the Declaration of the Transfer of Power issued on April 7, 2022, is an exceptional transitional document that established the transfer of powers to a collective leadership where decisions are made through consensus and unanimity, not by unilateral decisions. He emphasized that it is impermissible to interpret the Declaration selectively or to use it to legitimize practices that are themselves constitutionally contentious. He highlighted that the system of governance during this transitional phase is fundamentally rooted in the core principle of collective leadership. He further clarified that the powers vested in the PLC Chairman are set to be exercised from within the Council itself, in accordance with the rationale and founding philosophy of its establishment, and not independently or in isolation from it.

The Head of the Media and Culture Authority clarified that the powers related to declaring a state of emergency and general mobilization are explicitly bound by the constitution and the law and do not grant the PLC Chairman absolute authority. Instead, they are subject to the Council's oversight and a defined objection mechanism, which ensures the political legitimacy of the decision and prevents the re-creation of individual presidential powers that were abolished by the transfer of power.

Al-Sheikh rejected any interpretation that exempts the PLC Chairman from the principle of consensus or majority in sovereign decisions, confirming that he is part of the PLC and does not enjoy independent authority from it. In this context, he pointed to previous decisions that were issued without adhering to consensus mechanisms or presenting them to the PLC, noting that justifying them later under the concept of "exclusive powers" amounts to a retroactive adaptation that is constitutionally unacceptable.

Al-Sheikh concluded his statement by rejecting the employment of official media discourse to impose unilateral legal interpretations or to cover practices that undermine the essence of partnership. He renewed the call to adhere to the text and spirit of the Declaration of the Transfer of Power and to respect the principle of partnership and consensus as the foundation of stability during the transitional phase.