Yemeni political observers confirmed that announcing the formation of a new government “is merely a quota and a change of faces that will not lead to any tangible impact on the ground.”

Criticism also came from voices close to the militia, who expressed their disapproval at the absence of any radical change.

The head of the Political Council of the Houthi militias, in Sanaa, Mahdi Al-Mashat, assigned a member of the so-called Supreme Political Council, Ahmed Ghaleb Al-Rahwi, to form a new government to succeed Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, who was transferred to membership in the Council.

A leader close to the Houthi militia, Azal Al-Jawi, said in a surprising tweet in a tweet posted on the “X” platform: “Where is the radical change? There is change, but it is not (not) radical. The miserable situation will continue.”

Al-Jawi explained: “The nomination of the head of the new government came from the same system, with the same custom that has been followed for years, and with the same logic of quotas.”

He continued, "Al-Rahwi was not effective while he was in the Supreme Political Council, so how can he be effective when he is the head of government," describing the whole matter as a "narcotic dose."

Change faces

For his part, the head of the Department of Political Science at the College of Economics and Political Science at the University of Aden, Dr. Sami Noman, said, “Change is only changing faces and an attempt to convince Houthi supporters that they are following the principle of job rotation.”

He added, in a statement to “Erem News,” that “this comes as an attempt to sympathize with the southerners, as a southern figure from Abyan Governorate was chosen who was appointed by them as governor of Abyan, and an attempt to make the people of Abyan believe that the Houthis are on their side.”

Noman continued by saying that this step also comes “for fear of the repercussions of the decision to cancel sanctions on (the son of the late Yemeni president) and the possibilities of his return to the political scene, and that Bin Habtoor will align with him.”

He explained that “Al-Rahwi is an unknown figure who does not have that political weight, which makes managing and controlling him easier than Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, the veteran politician.”

Noman stressed that "the choice of the government will be according to pre-determined conditions by the Houthis, the first of which is absolute loyalty, as the Houthi movement relies on the principle of loyalty as a basis for affiliation to it or to any of the state agencies."

He added, "This government will be an equal government between the North and the South, and between it and the conference, in preparation for the upcoming peace consultations."