2020 Sahrawi legislative election
8–9 March 2020
52 (of the 53) seats in the National Council
27 seats needed for a majority
Registered~100,000
  First party
 
Leader Brahim Ghali
Party POLISARIO
Leader's seat Did not stand[n 1]
Last election 53 seats
Seats won 53 seats
Seat change Steady
Percentage 100%
President of the National Council before election

Khatri Addouh
POLISARIO

 President-elect

Hamma Salama
POLISARIO

Legislative elections were held in the Sahrawi Republic on 8–9 March 2020[1] to elect 52 of the 53 members of the Sahrawi National Council, the unicameral parliament of the SADR. More than 100,000 Sahrawis were registered to vote, with 145 candidates contesting the elections.[2]

Election system

Legislative elections in the Sahrawi Republic are organised mainly using a single non-transferable vote, as Sahrawis get one vote by checking a box next to the face of the candidate in the ballot.[3] Members are elected for a three-year term by direct universal suffrage.[2]

35 seats are elected in constituencies based on the wilayas (or regions) that the Sahrawi refugee camps are divided in, while seven seats are elected in constituencies based on the seven military regions that the Sahrawi liberated territories are divided and another 3 are elected representing soldiers of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army (EPLS) at large.

Three members are elected in representation of three branches of the Polisario Front: one representing the National Union of Sahrawi Women (UNMS), one representing the Sahrawi Youth Union (UJSARIO) and one representing the Sahrawi Trade Union (UGTSARIO). The final 5 seats are elected by members of the Consultative Council, a consultative body to the President of the SADR.[4]

Results

PartySeats+/–
Polisario Front530
Total530

Aftermath

Hamma Salama, a member of POLISARIO's national secretariat, was elected President of the Sahrawi National Council on 17 March 2020 during the constitutive session of the National Council. Salama won the vote against the Minister of Transport and Energy Salek Baba Hasana.[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Brahim Ghali is the Secretary General of the POLISARIO Front and President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, thus he doesn't run for a seat.

References

  1. ↑ "انطلاق عملية انتخابات أعضاء المجلس الوطني الصحراوي" [Start of the process of election of members of the Sahrawi National Council]. Sahrawi Press Service (in Arabic). 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  2. 1 2 "Los saharauis acuden hoy a las urnas para elegir un Consejo Nacional (El Parlamento)" [The Saharawis go to the polls today to elect a National Council (Parliament)]. ECSaharaui (in Spanish). 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  3. ↑ Association of Friendship with the Saharawi People of Seville [@aapss] (March 9, 2020). "Comenzamos el lunes asistiendo a un colegio electoral para las elecciones al #Parlamento" [We start Monday by attending an electoral college for the elections to the #Parliament] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Sahrawi refugee camps. Retrieved 2022-10-09 – via Twitter.
  4. ↑ Article 139 of the Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (19-23 December 2019)
  5. ↑ "Hamma Salama, electo presidente del Consejo Nacional Saharaui (Parlamento)" [Hamma Salama, elected president of the Saharawi National Council (Parliament)]. Sahrawi Press Service (in Spanish). 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
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