WA legislative election for the Sahrawi National Council took place between 17 February and 19 February 2008. More than 126 candidates competed for the 53 seats of the Sahrawi National Council, which is the unicameral legislature of the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The Council was elected for a period of three years. The election was only held in the so-called Free Zone as well as in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, the rest of Western Sahara being under the de facto administration of Morocco. As stipulated in the Sahrawi Constitution, the renewal of the Council occurred after the previous Council was dissolved following the 12th Congress of the Polisario Front, which took place two months earlier between 14 December and 21 December 2007. First-time MPs represented 61.53% of those elected. The percentage of young people in the new Council stood at 57.67%, while women gained 34.61% of seats, thanks in part to a quota system. Mahfoud Ali Beiba was reelected Speaker of the Council on 27 February 2008.
WThe most recent election for the Sahrawi National Council took place between 19 February and 21 February 2012. The candidates competed for the seats of the Sahrawi National Council, which is the unicameral legislature of the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The election was only held in the so-called Free Zone as well as in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, the rest of Western Sahara being under the de facto administration of Morocco. The election was held after the 13th Congress of the Polisario Front, which took place two months earlier between 15 December and 22 December 2011. The percentage of young people in the new Council stood at 42%, while women gained 25% of seats. Khatri Addouh was reelected Speaker of the Council on 28 February 2012.
WMohamed Lamine Ould Ahmed is a Sahrawi politician, writer and member of the Polisario Front.
WAlgeria–Sahrawi Republic relations refers to the current and historical relations between the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
WHabib Mahfud A. Boukhreis is the current Sahrawi ambassador to Uganda, also accredited non-resident ambassador to Rwanda, with a base in Kampala. He speaks Hassaniya and English.
WCuba–Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Cuba recognized the SADR on 20 January 1980, formal diplomatic relations were established on 30 January 1980. A Sahrawi embassy was opened in Havana in April 1980, and the Cuban embassy in Algiers was accredited to the SADR.
WEast Timor–Sahrawi Republic relations refers to the current and historical relations between the East Timor and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). The SADR was the first state to establish formal diplomatic relations with East Timor, after its independence on 20 May 2002, in part due to the long-time strong ties and the historical parallels between the two national liberation movements, FRETILIN and POLISARIO. A Sahrawi embassy was opened in Dili in 2010, during Xanana Gusmão's government.
WFatma El Mehdi is a Western Saharan activist. She is currently the secretary general of the National Union of Sahrawi Women. El Mehdi is also the first Western Saharan woman to attend a United Nations conference for women's rights. She has also served as president of the Women's Committee and Equality in Economic, Social and African Cultural Council (ECOSOCC). El Mehdi has lived in an Algerian refugee camp for about forty years.
WMohamed Kamal Fadel is the Polisario Front representative of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) to Australia & New Zealand. He had worked since 1986 in several diplomatic postings, as on SADR embassies or representations on Algeria, India, Iran, the United Kingdom & East Timor. In 1999 he was appointed as Sahrawi representative to Australia & New Zealand and also as roving ambassador for the South Pacific region. He holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Kent, United Kingdom. He speaks Hassaniya, English, French and Spanish.
WHassan I Airport is an airport serving Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara. The airport is named after Hassan I of Morocco. It is operated by the Moroccan state-owned company ONDA. Due to the particular political situation of Western Sahara, this airport appears in the Moroccan AIP as GMML and in the Spanish AIP as GSAI.
WBIRDHSO is a Switzerland-based human rights organization campaigning against the human rights violations in Western Sahara. It has also delegations in France, Italy and Spain.
WAccording to the CIA World Factbook, Muslims make up almost 100 percent of the population of the Western Sahara.
WAliyen Habib Kentaui is the Polisario Front representative for Sweden.
WLa Güera Airport (IATA: ZLG), was located adjacent to La Güera, Western Sahara.
WLaayoune TV is a Moroccan public television Regional channel. It is a part of the state-owned SNRT Group along with Al Aoula, Arryadia, Athaqafia, Al Maghribia, Assadissa, Aflam TV and Tamazight TV. The channel was established in November 2004, available on all digital platforms, the channel is based in El Aaiún, with the highest percentage of viewers in the southern provinces and abroad. The channel offers a variety of programs in Arabic and has created the eye of the Hassani Canal dialect to enrich the audiovisual and regional Sahara area.
WBrahim Mokhtar Boumakhrouta is the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Minister of Cooperation. He is a prominent member of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) diplomatic corps. He has had several postings around the world, both as Polisario representative and SADR ambassador. He has also held two positions in the SADR government, Secretary General of Government 2001-2003 and Director of Protocol 2003-2007 of the President Mohamed Abdelaziz.
WNigeria–Sahrawi Republic relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Nigeria recognized the SADR on 11 November 1984, and formal diplomatic relations were established on the same day. A Sahrawi embassy was opened in Abuja in late 2000 by the Olusegun Obasanjo government.
WThe prime minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is the head of government of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), a government in exile based in the Sahrawi refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria. The post of the prime minister has been held by Mohamed Wali Akeik since February 2018.
WSahrauis: The Music of the Western Sahara is a three-disc box set of Saharawi music, published by the Spanish label Nubenegra. It was the first compilation of such songs released in the United States. The producers of the album travelled to the Sahrawi refugee camps and spent 14 days with the artists to record the CDs 1 & 2 of the compilation, with the aim of recording with the finest musicians and singers the traditional Sahrawi music (Haul) of the past and present.
WSahrawi Republic–Venezuela relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Venezuela recognized the SADR in August 3, 1982, and formal diplomatic relations were established in December that year, during the Luis Herrera Campins government. A Sahrawi embassy was opened in Caracas in 1982, and the Venezuelan embassy in Algiers was accredited to the SADR.
WSahrawi nationalism is a political ideology that seeks self-determination of the Sahrawi people, the indigenous population of Western Sahara. It has historically been represented by the Polisario Front. It came as a reaction against Spanish colonialist policies imposed from 1958 on, and subsequently in reaction to Mauritanian and Moroccan invasions of 1975.
WSandtracks is the 2007 debut album of the Sahrawi band Tiris, published by Sandblast Arts on November 7. A special digital edition was released on October 5 through Believe Digital. The album was re-released in 2011.
WSmara Airport is an airport in Smara, a city in Western Sahara.
WStarry Nights in Western Sahara is an album compiled by filmmaker Danielle Smith, in the process of making one of her documentaries on Western Sahara. Starry Nights, published by North-American label Rounder Records, is the second compilation of Saharawi music released in the United States, after Sahrauis: The Music of the Western Sahara. The majority of the songs are sung by Umm Mekiya, a woman notorious for her voice. Songs range from traditional love songs to contemporary songs of political protest, accompanied with rhythmic clapping, lutes and tidinit.
WTelephone numbers in Western Sahara use ranges owned by Morocco.