ÿþ<html> <head> <title> Western Sahara Government 2012, CIA World Factbook </title> <META NAME="Description" CONTENT="Western Sahara Government 2012, CIA World Factbook"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="Western Sahara, Government, 2012, CIA, World, Factbook"> <script language="JavaScript"> function AddToFaves_hp(){ var is_4up = parseInt(navigator.appVersion); var is_mac = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("mac")!=-1; var is_ie = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("msie")!=-1; var thePage = location.href; if (thePage.lastIndexOf('#')!=-1) thePage = thePage.substring(0,thePage.lastIndexOf('#')); if (is_ie && is_4up && !is_mac) window.external.AddFavorite(thePage,document.title); else if (is_ie || document.images) booker_hp = window.open(thePage,'booker_','menubar,width=325,height=100,left=140,top=60'); //booker_hp.focus(); } //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; 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/* WFB Leaderboard */ google_ad_slot = "7548094546"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </td></tr> <tr height="3" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="white" nowrap units="pixels"><td colspan="2" align="left" valign="top" height="3" width="972" nowrap bgcolor="white" nowrap> <img src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/line1.gif"></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" align="middle" background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif" width="972"> <font size="-2"> <br></font> <font face="arial" size="5"><b>Western Sahara</b> Government 2012</font> <br> <font size = "-2"> http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/western_sahara/western_sahara_government.html </font> <br> <font size="-2"><B>SOURCE: 2012 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES</B></FONT></td></tr> <tr height="3" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="white" nowrap units="pixels"> <td colspan="2" align="left" valign="top" height="3" width="972" nowrap bgcolor="white" nowrap> <img src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/line13.gif"></td></tr></table> <table border="0" bgcolor="#FFCC99" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="972" align="left" valign="top" hspace="0" vspace="0" units="pixels"> <tr><td background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif" width="200" valign="top"> <font face="arial"> <br><br> <center> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-7437757543052749"; 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/* WFB Large Rectangle */ google_ad_slot = "8137512903"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <br> Page last updated on February 8, <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#country_name">Country name:</a></b><br> <i>conventional long form:</i> none <br><i>conventional short form:</i> Western Sahara <br><i>former:</i> Rio de Oro, Saguia el Hamra, Spanish Sahara <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#government_type">Government type:</a></b><br> legal status of territory and issue of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), near Tindouf, Algeria, led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976 when Spain withdrew, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an Organization of African Unity (OAU) member in 1984; Morocco between 1980 and 1987 built a fortified sand berm delineating the roughly 80 percent of Western Sahara west of the barrier that currently is controlled by Morocco; guerrilla activities continued sporadically until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented on 6 September 1991 (Security Council Resolution 690) by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#capital">Capital:</a></b><br> none <br><i>time difference:</i> UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) <br><i>daylight saving time:</i> +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in July <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#administrative_divisions">Administrative divisions:</a></b><br> none (territory west of the berm under de facto Moroccan control) <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#suffrage">Suffrage:</a></b><br> none; (residents of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara participate in Moroccan elections) <br>[see also: <a href="http://www.photius.com/rankings/population/suffrage_2012_0.html" target="_blank"><u>Suffrage country ranks</u></a> ] <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#executive_branch">Executive branch</a>:</b><br> none <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#political_pressure_groups_and_leaders">Political pressure groups and leaders:</a></b><br> none <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/abbreviations.html">International organization participation</a>:</b><br> AU, WFTU <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#diplomatic_representation_in_the_us">Diplomatic representation in the US:</a></b><br> none <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#diplomatic_representation_from_the_us">Diplomatic representation from the US:</a></b><br> none </font> <p> <p> <BR> <P> <font size = "-2"><B> NOTE: The information regarding Western Sahara on this page is re-published from the 2012 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Western Sahara Government 2012 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Western Sahara Government 2012 should be addressed to the CIA. </B></font> </P> <br> <hr> <a href="#" onClick="AddToFaves_hp()"><img src="http://www.theodora.com/images/bookmark_banner.gif" align="left" width="176" height="52" border="0"></a><font color=brown> - Please bookmark this page (add it to your favorites). <br> - If you wish to <b>link</b> to this page, you can do so by referring to the URL address below this line.</font> <hr> http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/western_sahara/western_sahara_government.html <br><br> This page was last modified 06-Mar-12 <br> Copyright &copy 1995-2012 <a href="http://www.theodora.com/ita.html">ITA</a> all rights reserved. <br> </td> <td width=200 valign="top" align="left" background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif"> <!-- SiteSearch Google --> <br> <form action="http://www.google.com/cse" id="cse-search-box"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-7437757543052749:i8v5yg-obf2" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="text" name="q" size="26" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" /> </div> </form> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/cse/brand?form=cse-search-box&lang=en"></script> <!-- End SiteSearch Google --> <font size="2" face="arial"> <b> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb">|Main INDEX|</a> <li><a href="../index.html">2012 INDEX</a> <li><a href="http://www.photius.com/rankings/index.html">Country Ranks</a> <li><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html">DEFINITIONS</a> <br><br> <a href="index.html">Western Sahara Index 2012</a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/western_sahara/index.html">Western Sahara Main Index</a> <li><a href="western_sahara_introduction.html">Introduction</a> <li><a href="western_sahara_geography.html">Geography</a> <li>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theodora.com/maps">Maps</a><br> <li><a href="western_sahara_people.html">People</a><br> </b> &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.photius.com/religion">Religion</a> <b><li><a href="western_sahara_government.html">Government</a><br></B> &nbsp;&nbsp; Gov. 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