The politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic refers to politics of the

Polisario Front The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس� ...

's proclaimed

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also romanized with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a ...

, a country in North Africa with limited recognition by other states, controlling parts of the

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

region. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic claims the whole

, a territory most of which is currently administered by

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

as the

Southern Provinces The Southern Provinces ( ar, الأقاليم الجنوبية, Al-Aqalim al-Janubiyah, french: Provinces du Sud) or Moroccan Sahara ( ar, الصحراء المغربية, Assahra al-Maghribiya, french: Sahara marocain) are the terms used by th ...

. SADR control some part of the territory, called the Free Zone. Its government seats in

Tindouf Tindouf (Berber: Tinduf, ar, تندوف) is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. The commune has population of around 160,000 but the census and population ...

, Algeria. According to its

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

, the

(SADR) is a form of

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other partie ...

, as long as it is not in control of its territory. The organization backing the republic is the

, the Popular Front for the Liberation of

Saguia el-Hamra Saguia el-Hamra ( es, Saguía el Hamra, ar, الساقية الحمراء, lit=Red Canal, translit=al-Saqiyah al-Hamra'a) was, with Río de Oro, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969. Its name ...

and

Río de Oro Río de Oro (Spanish for "Gold River"; , ''wādī-að-ðahab'', often transliterated as ''Oued Edhahab'') was, with Saguia el-Hamra, one of the two territories that formed the Spanish province of Spanish Sahara after 1969; it had been taken as ...

(''Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro''), but it has declared that it will either transform into a normal political party among others, or split into several parties in the eventuality of an independent Western Sahara.

History

Colonized by Spain from 1884 to 1975, as

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...

, and after the tripartite agreement, known as the

Madrid Accords The Madrid Accords, formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania setting out six principles which would end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a t ...

, the territory was partitioned between

and

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

in 1976, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds. Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979, with Morocco moving to take control of that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control over the majority of the territory. The Polisario front's SADR claims to administer a portion to the east of the

Moroccan Wall The Moroccan Western Sahara Wall or Berm is an approximately sand wall or berm running south to north through Western Sahara and the southwestern portion of Morocco. It separates the Moroccan-controlled areas (the Southern Provinces) on the ...

. The Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as member of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

in 1984, and was a founding member of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

. Guerrilla activities continued until a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

-monitored

cease-fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state ac ...

was implemented September 6, 1991 via the mission

MINURSO The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara ( ar, بعثة الأمم المتحدة لتنظيم استفتاء في الصحراء الغربية; french: Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au ...

. The mission patrols the separation line between the two territories (maps

. In 2000, The UN's envoy to the territory,

James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff and 67th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President ...

, presented a third way option to solve the conflict, known as the Framework Agreement or Baker plan I, consisting in a devolution of the Moroccan state of many of its prerogatives to an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

within Moroccan sovereignty. Morocco accepted the plan, while Algeria and the Polisario Front rejected it. Algeria proposed a partition of the territory instead. In 2003,

, presented the Baker Plan II, which would have given

immediate

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one' ...

as the Western Sahara Authority during a five-year transition period to prepare for a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

, offering the inhabitants of the territory a choice between

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

within the Kingdom of Morocco, or complete integration with Morocco. Polisario has accepted the plan, but Morocco has rejected it.

Executive branch

The Government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is headed by President and Prime Minister. ,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, Brahim Gali ,

, 9 July 2016 , - ,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Mohamed Wali Akeik Mohamed Wali Akeik ( ar, محمد والي أكيك; born 1950) was the prime minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which holds a disputed claim over Western Sahara. Akeik was appointed on February 4, 2018 by President Brahim Ghali, suc ...

, 4 February 2018

Legislative branch

The

Sahrawi National Council The Sahrawi National Council (SNC) or Sahrawi Parliament is the legislature of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Its structure and competences are guided by the Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). The present speaker ...

(''Consejo Nacional Saharaui'') is the legislature of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile ...

. It has 53 members, elected for a two-year term in 11

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

Elections

The Sahrawi population in the refugee camps in Algeria as well as in the Free Zone participates in elections to the institutions of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. An election for the

took place in February 2012. A

on independence or integration with Morocco was agreed upon by Morocco and the Sahrawi republic in 1991, but did not take place due to the parties' divergence on who should be allowed to vote.

Foreign relations

The foreign relations of the

are conducted by the

, which maintains a network of representation offices and

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

in foreign countries. It has conducted diplomatic relations with states and international organisations since its inception in 1973. In 1966, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 22/29 affirmed for the first time the Sahrawi right on self-determination. In 1979, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 34/37 reaffirmed again the right of the Western Sahara people to self-determination and independence, recognizing also the Polisario Front as the representative of the Western Sahara people.

References