Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Monday authorized his deputy to sign a deal mediated by the Gulf Cooperation Council to end the unrest and set up a timeframe for the transfer of power, state-run SABA news agency reported.
Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi was authorized by a decree to hold a dialogue with opposition groups, the report said, and reach an agreement on the deal, mediated by the six-member Gulf council, in order to set up a mechanism for power transfer, DPA reported.
He also reportedly delegated Hadi to begin preparations for early presidential elections, without specifying the date. Saleh's term ends in 2013.
The opposition said this was another attempt by Saleh to procrastinate. At a press conference Monday, opposition spokesperson Mohammed Qahtan rejected any call for dialogue before signing the Gulf deal, and said such endeavors were meaningless.
"Any talk about a dialogue prior to having the Gulf deal signed means wasting time and misguiding the public opinion," Qahtan said, calling on youth activists to keep "escalating their protests until they topple the remnants of the regime."
Over the past months, Saleh has refrained from signing the deal, despite the fact that it ensures him immunity from prosecution.
Protesters have been calling for Saleh to go on trial, after about 400 people were killed in a government crackdown on demonstrators.
Saleh, who has ruled Yemen since 1978, has been recovering in Saudi Arabia from an attack on his presidential compound in June.
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