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Sahrawi Republic

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Constitution President Mohamed Abdelaziz Prime Minister Abdelkader Taleb Oumar National Council Political parties Polisario Front Elections Foreign relations Free Zone

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Elections in Western Sahara gives information on election and election results in Western Sahara.

Western Sahara is claimed and largely administered by Morocco since Spain abandoned the territory in 1975, but sovereignty is unresolved, the territory is contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). The United Nations, which considers Western Sahara a non-decolonized territory, is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue through the mission Minurso. The UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991.

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) elects a legislature, the Sahrawi National Council (SNC), on a national level. The SNC, which is also referred to as the republic's parliament, has 101 members, elected on a General Popular Congress (GPC) held every four years. The last GPC was held in October 2002 in Tifariti, in the Polisario-controlled areas of Western Sahara. Elections take place within the framework of the Polisario Front, candidates are elected individually and no political parties are allowed. The GPC also elects the National Secretariat, an executive organ of the Polisario, and its Secretary-General, who then becomes President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Present Secretary-General is Mohamed Abdelaziz. Local and regional officials, as well as delegates to the GPC, are elected at biannual Popular Congresses (or Popular Base Congresses) in the refugee camps of Tindouf.

The constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, first proclaimed in 1976 and last amended in 1996, stipulates that the above-described system is an emergency mechanism that will be in place only for as long as Western Sahara is non-sovereign. After the creation of an independent Western Saharan state, a transformational period defined in the constitution will begin, ending with the installment of a multi-party system on European lines. The Polisario will then be dissolved or transformed into an ordinary political party.

Main article: Elections in Morocco.

• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system