38 • The heads of all organisations affiliated to GPC; • Chief editors of GPC newspapers; and • Heads of departments in the administrative and financial sec­tors. The General Conference then elects the members of the Political Bu­reau and the leaders of General Authority. The party bylaws list the re­quirements and restrictions for each position. Finally, policy documents are not widely distributed to ordinary members but only amongst the party leaders and decision-makers. An ordinary member knows about them only what is printed in the party newspapers 3.2.3. Party Legislative and Governance Profile After being the sole permitted party of the YAR, the GPC had to learn to participate in a competitive multi-party system. In many ways, the GPC and the Yemeni government are making positive strides towards fulfilling this role. Yemeni opposition parties operate with unprece­dented freedom for the Arab world. The ruling party generally permits freedom of the press to a certain degree and opposition newspapers are often able to harshly criticize both the President and ruling party. However, the GPC and especially President Saleh often fail to allow vibrant and competitive opposition through informal policy co-opting opposition leaders. Leaders of Islah often, but not always, side with the GPC because of their strong traditional and tribal ties with the GPC leadership. In addition, many leaders of opposition parties become the “official” or“government” opposition through their status of being on the payroll of the President’s office. Representatives of the party hold regular meetings with the Deputy Chairman of the House who is responsible for co-ordinating the GPC caucus. The leader of the GPC caucus is also a member of the Political Bureau[the Public/General Committee] allowing him to contribute to the development of GPC policies. The GPC caucus is perhaps the most significant area where a controlled degree of inter-party opposition is