View source for 2008 Sahrawi legislative election

{{Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic}}

Elections to the [[Sahrawi National Council]] were held between 17 and 19 February 2008. More than 126 candidates competed for the 53 seats in the Council, the [[unicameral]] [[legislature]] of the [[Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic|partially recognized]] [[Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]]. The Council was elected for a period of three years.<ref>{{cite news | title = Start of the election of a new Saharawi Parliament | publisher = [[Sahara Press Service]] | date = 2008-02-17 | url = http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=812 | accessdate = 2008-04-21 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110526204545/http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=812 | archivedate = 2011-05-26 }}</ref> The elections were only held in the [[Free Zone (region)|Free Zone]] of Western Sahara and in [[Refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria|Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria]], the rest of Western Sahara being under the ''de facto'' administration of [[Morocco]]. As stipulated in the [[Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic|Sahrawi constitution]], the renewal of the Council occurred after the previous Council was [[Dissolution of parliament|dissolved]] following the 12th Congress of the [[Polisario Front]], which took place two months earlier between 14 and 21 December 2007.<ref>{{cite news | title = Closure on Friday of POLISARIO 12th congress in Tifariti | publisher = [[Sahara Press Service]] | date = 2007-12-21 | url = http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=484 | accessdate = 2008-04-21 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110526204610/http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=484 | archivedate = 2011-05-26 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | title = Renewal of the Saharawi Parliament reached 61,53% | publisher = [[Sahara Press Service]] | date = 2008-02-25 | url = http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=872 | accessdate = 2008-04-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110526204947/http://www.spsrasd.info/en/detail.php?id=872 | archive-date = 2011-05-26 | url-status = dead }}</ref> [[Mahfoud Ali Beiba]] was reelected [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of the Council on 27 February 2008.<ref>{{cite news | title = M. Mahfoud Ali Beiba réélu à la tête du parlement sahraoui | language = French | publisher = [[Sahara Press Service]] | date = 2008-02-27 | url = http://www.spsrasd.info/fr/detail.php?id=919 | accessdate = 2008-04-21 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110526204921/http://www.spsrasd.info/fr/detail.php?id=919 | archivedate = 2011-05-26 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Western Saharan elections}}

[[Category:Elections in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic]]
[[Category:2008 elections in Africa|Sahrawi]]
[[Category:2008 in Algeria|Sahrawi]]
[[Category:2008 in Western Sahara|Legislative]]

{{Africa-election-stub}}
{{WesternSahara-stub}}