54 same pattern as the national level elections and are monitored by the local executive branch. Moreover, regarding the implementation of disciplinary mechanisms, the party has an internal judicial authority headed by the Secretary for Punishments and Discipline, whose duty is to deal with ethical breaches and complaints against party leadership, and to implement disciplinary procedures whenever necessary. The harshest punishment is expulsion from the party. The party has judicial departments at the governorate level, and cases are decided first locally and then can be appealed at the national level committee. The party bylaws list requirements and restrictions for each position. For example, members of the Consultative Council must have been Islah party members for at least three years. Members of the Supreme Committee must have a specific religious or cultural background. The members of the Judicial Sectors must have a background in law. Indi­viduals can only hold a specific party position for three four-year terms. It can be concluded that the Consultative Council(Political Bureau) determines official policies. Although policy documents are routinely distributed amongst party leaders, the only means for widely dissemi­nating Islah policy documents to general members is through the offi­cial Islah newspaper, which is distributed throughout the country. 3.3.3. Party Legislative and Governance Profile Islah party, for so many quantitative and qualitative factors, is currently the largest and most powerful of all Yemen’s opposition parties; and may be also in contrast to the ruling party GPC. Further, because of the YSP’s boycott of the 1997 parliamentary elections, Islah is the only viable opposition in the Parliament(if it can be truly considered a real and a full opposition party). However, in many cases, the party did not adequately fulfil its role as the opposition, often failing to contest GPC policies. Many members of the Islah’s leadership group have extremely close personal, tribal and family ties with the most important leadership of GPC, which often serves to lessen political confrontation and debate.