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(CNN) -- A deal designed to end months of anti-government protests in Yemen suffered a setback Sunday when embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh rejected the opposition signature, officials said Sunday. Saleh, who was due Sunday to sign the deal paving the way to his departure from power, refused to recognize the opposition signature on it from the day before.
"President Saleh invited the JMP (opposition alliance) to sign the ... proposal at the presidential palace at 3 p.m. today. We hope the JMP accepts President Saleh's invitation," said Tareq Shami, a spokesman for Yemen's ruling party, the General People's Congress.
He insisted that the demand is not a complication, but rather common sense.
"Any agreement should never take place in closed-door meetings. This is commonly known and Saleh does not want to start the transition period in such a way," Shami said.
Thousands of Saleh supporters blocked roads leading to a building where Saleh was meeting with senior officials from the ruling party Sunday, saying they would not let the president leave the compound and sign the proposal.
"We will not allow him to sign and step down in 30 days. The GCC proposal is against the will of the Yemeni people," said Sabri Ali, a Saleh supporter. "We will stand with Saleh against the criminals in the JMP and will not accept anyone to rule us expect Saleh."
Tribal leaders, meanwhile, put armed gunmen on main roads in anticipation of violence.
"Yemen is lawless today and our tribes are here to ensure that safety prevails in all circumstances," said Shaef Ali Arhabi, a tribal leader from Arhab region.
He supports the opposition, but pro-Saleh tribesman are on the streets as well.
Opposition officials rejected Saleh's proposal that they sign the agreement again on Sunday after inking it Saturday.
"This is Saleh. His words are never trusted. No agreement is respected by him," said Mohammed Qahtan, a spokesman for the JMP.
An opposition youth leader accused Saleh of trying to weaken the JMP by making it "chase him from place to place" and predicted he would not sign in the end.
"The youth will not care if any signing takes place. Our demands are clear and Saleh will stand trial for all his crimes," activist Tawakkol Karman said.
Yemen, a key al Qaeda battleground and U.S. ally, has been roiled by protests for most of the year amid the background of anti-government demonstrations across much of the Arab world.
Saleh has ruled the country for 33 years.
Yemen's opposition signed the regionally brokered deal to result in his departure and end the country's grinding political crisis, opposition officials told CNN Saturday.
Previous attempts to reach a similar pact -- guided by the regional alliance the Gulf Cooperation Council -- have come close to being finished, only to fall through.
Saleh is unpopular in many quarters of the country, but he has been a stalwart U.S. ally against terrorism.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday Yemen is in "trying times," with suppression and deaths of civilians.
"President Saleh needs to follow through on his commitment to transfer power. The government of Yemen must address the legitimate will of the people," she said in a statement.
Shami, the ruling party spokesman, said earlier that Saleh asked to delay the signing until Sunday because it's a national holiday.