Spain Votes to Grant Citizenship to Up to 110,000 Sahrawis in Move That Could Anger Morocco

• Spain's lower house passed legislation on Thursday granting citizenship to Sahrawis born during Madrid's colonial administration of Western Sahara
• Between 70,000 and 110,000 Sahrawis could be eligible, with the right also extended to their descendants
• The vote comes amid already strained Spain-Morocco relations following a mass migrant crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta

Spain's lower house of parliament voted on Thursday to offer citizenship to Sahrawis born during the period when Madrid governed Western Sahara as a colonial territory, a decision with the potential to deepen an already fragile relationship with Morocco.

The bill passed with 168 votes in favour, 31 against and 145 abstentions, according to a statement from parliament.

Reuters reported that legislation also extends citizenship rights to the descendants of those directly eligible, potentially covering between 70,000 and 110,000 people, according to local media estimates.

Spain's ruling Socialist Party and its junior coalition partner Sumar, which tabled the bill, were among its primary backers.

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The conservative People's Party chose to abstain, while the far-right Vox party voted against it.

Tesh Sidi of the leftist Sumar coalition, the first woman of Sahrawi origin to serve in Spain's parliament, welcomed the result. "With the adoption of this legislation, we are restoring — and I emphasise, restoring — the Spanish national identity card to those Sahrawis who once held it and from whom this state took it away," she said.

Spain administered Western Sahara under various colonial arrangements from 1884 until 1976. After Spanish rule ended, Morocco began asserting sovereignty over the territory, a claim it continues to maintain. The Algerian-backed Polisario Front has sought international recognition for an independent state known as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Many Sahrawis currently live in refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, or have settled abroad, while others remain in Western Sahara itself.

Strained Relations With Morocco

The vote arrives at a particularly sensitive moment in Spain-Morocco ties. Relations between the two countries came under fresh pressure following the arrival of at least 70,000 migrants in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta in July, an episode that has added to long-running diplomatic friction.

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Madrid's relationship with Rabat has shifted considerably in recent years. Spain had previously aligned itself with United Nations resolutions calling for a referendum in Western Sahara, but the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reversed that position in 2022, announcing support for Morocco's autonomy proposal for the territory. That shift helped ease tensions, with Madrid describing Rabat's plan as "serious, credible and realistic."

The citizenship legislation, however, represents a direct acknowledgement of Spain's historical responsibility to the Sahrawi people, a framing that Morocco is unlikely to welcome given its continued claims over the disputed territory.

Source: YEN.com.gh