Sahrawi National Council

Consejo Nacional Saharaui

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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 since 2020 is Hamma Salama.

It was first created by Polisario Front members and Sahrawi tribal notables as the Provisionary National Council in April or November 1975, after the proclamation of Guelta Zemmur. On February 27, 1976, POLISARIO leader El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed announced that the Council had declared the creation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, of which it became the first parliament. On the POLISARIO's III General Popular Congress (August 26–30, 1976), a newly elected membership was formally installed as the Sahrawi National Council.

The SNC is a unicameral body, with 53 seats, elected every two years (since the XIII POLISARIO Congress) at the General Popular Congresses by delegates from the Sahrawi refugee camps at Tindouf province, Algeria, supplemented by representatives of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army and the civil society organizations (UJSARIO, UNMS, UGTSARIO). In the last election (2012), 35% of the parliamentarians were women. It usually convenes in Tifariti, at the Liberated Territories of Western Sahara, but on occasion also in the refugee camps.

Among the reforms enacted by the SNC is the abolishment of death penalty. In 1999, the SNC caused the fall of then Prime Ministers Mahfoud Ali Beiba government through a motion of no-confidence. The powers of the SNC were substantially expanded in the 1991 constitutional reforms of the SADR, and has since been further enhanced.

List of presidents of the Sahrawi National Council

Below is a list of presidents of the Sahrawi Provisional National Council:

Name	Image	Took office	Left office	Notes
Mohamed Ould Ziou		28 November 1975	August 1976

Below is a list of presidents of the Sahrawi National Council:

Name	Image	Took office	Left office	Notes
Sidi Ahmed Ould Mohamed Mahmoud		August 1976	September 1978
El-Kenti Ould Jouda		September 1978	1984
Hamoudi Ould Ahmed Baba		? – 1985	1986
Mohamed Ould Mubarek Ould Rahal		1986	1987 – ?
Mohamed Lamine Ould Ahmed	[[File:Mohamed Lamin Ahmed.jpg	60px]]	?	?
Abdelkader Taleb Omar	[[File:Abdelkader Taleb Omar.jpg	60px]]	1995	1999
Salem Lebsir		20 October 1999	2003
Mahfoud Ali Beiba		2003	2 July 2010
Mbarek Lehdeib		2 July 2010	10 July 2010	Acting
Khatri Addouh	[[File:Khatri adduh parlamento extremadura (cropped).JPG	60px]]	10 July 2010	16 March 2020
Hamma Salama		16 March 2020	Present

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Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro
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