Spain’s Early Election Puts Sahrawi Nationality Bill on Hold

13:55

Spain’s early election disrupts citizenship initiative for Sahrawis

An early election in Spain has put a proposed pathway to Spanish nationality for Sahrawis on hold, interrupting a legislative process that had already secured overwhelming support in the Congress of Deputies.

The measure, approved by lawmakers on September 10, was intended to create a legal route for Sahrawis to obtain Spanish citizenship. However, the dissolution of Parliament and the decision to hold legislative elections on November 29 have effectively halted the initiative before its final stages could be completed.

The suspension represents a setback for the lawmakers who had spent years promoting the proposal and for Sahrawi communities awaiting a change in their legal status.

A parliamentary initiative interrupted

Sumar MP Tesh Sidi, one of the main figures behind the proposal launched in November 2023, expressed disappointment following the decision to call early elections.

For Sidi, the dissolution of Parliament means that a measure supported by an exceptionally broad majority risks disappearing from the legislative agenda. She described the situation as a painful moment both personally and for Sahrawis who had expected the citizenship process to move forward.

The parliamentary disruption illustrates how Spain’s electoral calendar can abruptly affect legislation that has already made substantial progress through the political system.

Sahrawi communities look to the next government

The development has also drawn attention in the Sahrawi refugee camps around Tindouf, where expectations had grown around the proposed nationality reform.

With the parliamentary route now suspended, some Sahrawis are looking toward the executive branch for a possible alternative. One proposal under discussion is for the government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to adopt the measure through a decree-law, bypassing the standard parliamentary procedure.

Supporters point to previous instances in which the Spanish government used decree-laws to address urgent legislative matters, including measures adopted during the housing crisis.

Such a move, however, would depend on the political decisions of the government formed after the November 29 election and could reopen a broader debate over the legal and political framework governing Spanish nationality for Sahrawis.

A new political phase awaits

The future of the initiative will therefore depend heavily on the outcome of the early elections and the composition of the next Spanish government.

For its supporters, the immediate challenge is to prevent the parliamentary work already completed from being lost and to restore the proposal to the political agenda once a new legislature is established.

The suspension does not necessarily mark the end of the nationality campaign, but it introduces a new period of uncertainty. The next Spanish government will ultimately determine whether the initiative is revived through Parliament, replaced by another legal mechanism, or left pending for a later political cycle.