36 unlikely to ever be truly open as long as moral and physical corruption remains stronger than ideologies, morals, principles, policies, and strategies. To a great extent, the GPC has been and still remains a cohesive politi­cal force. The President has recently come to accept the idea of the need for opposition in a democracy(up to certain levels and within spe­cific formats) and has begun to allow controlled official dissent within the ruling party. Several trusted and loyal GPC MPs and leaders have been encouraged to speak frankly and practice a certain degree of self­criticism of the party and government. The unofficial informal opposi­tion within the GPC includes and is based on its MPs and some party’s intellectuals and writers. The President generally encourages and sup­ports their constructive criticisms, if any, of the GPC ministers, deputy ministers, and officials in the bureaucracy. Yet, in general most of the party leaders are committed to the party’s principles and policies, espe­cially when it is needed extremely at the national level. `K=lêÖ~åáë~íáçå~ä=píêìÅíìêÉ=~åÇ=mêçÅÉëë= First of all, the party does have a written constitution and code of con­duct. The GPC is well organised at the national, governorate and dis­trict levels and has recently completed a campaign of extending that organisational structure into the southern governorates. The offices of the General Authority carry out the daily operations of the party. The General Authority consists of the General Secretaries, six Assistant General Secretaries, and the Heads of Departments. Executive depart­ments include: Organisational Affairs, Political and Foreign Relations, Finance and Administration, Popular Organisations, Ideology, Culture and Media, Economics and Services, Guidance and Orientation, Female Issues, and Youth and Students. In addition, the GPC has research branches in each of the following departments: Political, Organisational, Cultural, Information, Eco­nomic, and Service. Al-Mithaq Institute is also a GPC-operated organi­zation that serves as a school for party members to attend courses and seminars by various politicians and GPC-affiliated university profes-