Amid the thorny crisis between Madrid and Rabat, the Spanish parliament approved on Thursday a bill granting Spanish citizenship to Sahrawi nationals. The decision will take effect immediately after a potentially procedural vote in the Senate. This move could create a new dynamic in the Western Sahara conflict, for which the United Nations is seeking a solution through autonomy.
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The law granting citizenship to Sahrawis born under Spanish administration and their descendants was approved with 168 votes in favor, mostly from the ruling left-wing coalition and the nationalist parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country. Members of the opposition People's Party, which had opposed the law, abstained, while the far-right Vox party voted against it with 31 votes. The decision will now go to the Senate, where it can be amended, but it is expected to be ratified despite the opposition People's Party holding a majority in the upper house.
The law grants citizenship to individuals born in the Western Sahara region when it was a Spanish colony, i.e., before the end of 1975, and to their children and grandchildren, provided they have lived in Spain for at least two years. The residency period was extended for beneficiaries born before September 29, 1977.
The Speaker of the Spanish Parliament, Frantise Armengol, holds the hand of the Spanish-Sahrawi MP, Tiss Sidi, from the “Mas Madrid” party.
The Somar party, part of the governing coalition, initiated the measure in 2024, but the Socialist Party, which leads the government, opposed it, arguing that it was impossible to implement. However, the party's spokesperson, Patxi López, confirmed on Monday that his party would support the law and would act independently of Morocco's position. The Spanish Socialist Party presents this measure as a restoration of the right to citizenship, which Sahrawis have been unable to exercise in practice.
This coincides with the ongoing crisis between Rabat and Madrid over the Ceuta tragedy, in which more than 70,000 migrants, mostly Moroccans, entered the Spanish enclave, an operation that resulted in over 141 drownings. This underscores the Socialist Party's shift away from its policy of rapprochement and dialogue with Morocco following this tragedy.
What remains interesting is that the nationality law will create a new reality in the Western Sahara region, because a large percentage of Sahrawis, including those in the Tindouf camps, will become holders of Spanish nationality, which is a given open to all interpretations, and may have many repercussions in all directions.
In 2022, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged to support autonomy as a solution to the Western Sahara conflict, despite opposition from various political parties. His stance encouraged several countries, some supporting autonomy and others supporting direct Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, as is the case with France. Following the Ceuta tragedy, Morocco feared that the Madrid government might reconsider its position, and the ruling Socialist Party's decision in the Congress of Deputies this Thursday is a worrying sign. Despite these developments, sources close to the party confirmed to that Sánchez will maintain his support for autonomy.
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