SANA’A – The reactions towards the Technical Committee of the National Dialogue have been mixed since its establishment last Saturday.

Some consider the Technical Committee as a good start to pave the way for the National Dialogue slated to be held in November. On the contrary, others voiced objections about the people involved in the committee.

Mohammed Saif, writer and political analyst, said that the names included in the committee have been approved following full examination and investigation. He added that the names were presented to Jamal Benomar, the U.N. special envoy to Yemen.

Saif said the forming the committee is a prologue to embarking on the National Dialogue as a way to get Yemen out of the ongoing crisis.

The revolutionary youth in Change Square in Sana’a have objected to the decision of establishing this committee. Waleed Al-Amari, an activist in Change Square, said youth have been neglected and no one represents them in the committee.

The committee members are divided equally between the parties; moreover, no certain criteria were taken into account to ensure that the national dialogue turns out to be a success, according to Al-Amari.

For his part, Maizer Al-Junaid, the mouthpiece of the Revolutionary Youth Council, said the president’s decree is an invitation to civil strife, not to national dialogue.

The youth have not been the only side attacking the formation of this committee. The spokesperson of the Joint Meeting Parties, Ahmed Al-Bahri, raised questions about the declaration of such a decision; the Al-Umah party and the rest of the JMP are not represented in the National Dialogue.

“Such exclusion doesn’t help the political process in Yemen,” Al-Bahri said. “It will derail the dialogue and may drive the nation to be back again in its past troubles.”

President Hadi issued a decision on Saturday aimed at establishing the preparatory committee for the National Dialogue.

The Technical Committee includes 25 members who hailed from the political parties, Houthis, the Southern Movement, the youth in the squares and civil society organizations.

According to the presidential decree, the choice of the committee members was based on the actual abilities of the members to represent a wide range of people nationwide.

The decree stipulated that the task of the committee will end Sept. 30, when a detailed report will be presented to the president.

According to the decree, the Technical Committee is the first step of the transitional process endorsed by the Gulf Initiative. The second step is drafting a new constitution; the third is preparing for general elections in the end of the transitional period and finally preparing a new electoral record.