The Constitution of the SADR, proclaimed in 1976 and amemded several times, stipulates that the current political system is an emergency mechanism, with the intention to establish a multi-party system as soon as the SADR manages to establish its authority in all of Western Sahara. The Polisario would then either be dissolved or transformed into an ordinary political party based on an extraordinary Congress.
History
The Polisario Front organised several refugee camps (located in Tindouf, Algeria, the only neighbouring country friendly with Polisario) to accommodate the Sahrawi refugees fleeing the Western Sahara War. After the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on 27 February 1976, the camps were administered as part of the newly created Sahrawi nation-state, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
The political system established has been described as a participatory democracy,[1] where the main space of political participation was open discussion meetings organised for all citizens to attend voluntarily, and in which they are free to express their opinions and put questions to the government representatives running the meeting, who are responsible to pass on the views and suggestions of the local population. The open discussion meetings, known as political meetings,[a] are held before elections and congresses of organisations (women, trade union, youth...).
Having a militant experience of at least twenty years and have held positions in the national leadership for at least ten years.
Having military experience during the war.
Being at least 40 years old.
Having a clean criminal record.
The candidates are proposed by the Election Commission, and voted on by the Congress. The vote is done by ballot directly and secretly, with a supermajority of at least two-thirds of the vote required to win the first round and an absolute majority for the second round.[2]
Legislative election
Legislative elections are held for the Sahrawi National Council, legally considered the successor of the colonialYema'a. The election system has varied several times.
To be elected to the Sahrawi National Council the following requirements (as set in Article 82 of the 2023 Constitution[3]) have to be met:
Being a political supervisor performing their duties in the institution they supervise when submitting their candidacy file.
Having a university degree or a two-year specialised certificate, in addition to five years of work or a professional experience of no less than five years in one or more of the following jobs:
Member of the Sahrawi National Council for one or more terms;
Regional staff in the army and above;
Ambassador, representative or a head of a diplomatic mission at a country level;
Member of a regional council or above;
Basic branch secretary or mayor or above;
Member of the executive office of a mass organization for at least a full term;
Former secretary of a mass organization.
Elections are held on the basis of direct and universal suffrage using the single non-transferable vote election system with a gender quota reserving seats to women. Members can be re-elected but cannot assume any other public office while serving as Members of the National Council. Members come from constituencies based either on the districts of the refugee camps or the military regions of the SADR; while mass organisations and the Consultative Council get seats reserved. The President of the National Council is elected from outside of the members from candidates proposed by the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front.
^Zunes, Stephen (1988). "Participatory Democracy in the Sahara: A Study of Polisario Self-Governance". Scandinavian Journal of Development Alternatives. 7 (2–3): 141.
Ruiz Miguel, Carlos (2022). El Frente Polisario: Desde sus orígenes hasta la actualidad [The Polisario Front: From its origins to the present] (in Spanish). Córdoba, Spain: Editorial Almuzara. ISBN9788411312134.
External links
"Binomio Frente Polisario - RASD" [Polisario Front - SADR Binomial] (in Spanish). SaharawisToday. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
