Madrid, Sep 10 (EFE).-The Spanish Congress approved a law on Thursday allowing those born in Western Sahara before 1977 and their descendants to become Spanish citizens, a move most political parties and Sahrawi representatives who attended the debate called “historic.”
The law, which Sahrawi groups estimate could benefit between 80,000 and 120,000 people, aims to address the “neglect” Sahrawis believe the Spanish state has subjected them to since the signing of the Madrid Tripartite Agreement on November 14, 1975, under which Spain ceded administration of Western Sahara, then a Spanish province, to Morocco and Mauritania.
The bill was proposed by the left-wing group Sumar, a junior coalition partner of the Socialists in the government, and has been under consideration for months.
The vote passed with support of the coalition partners (left-wing and nationalist parties), the abstention of the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the Catalan separatists of Junts, and the opposition of the far-right Vox party.
All the lawmakers who supported the bill applauded at the end of the vote and looked toward the visitors’ gallery, where a group of Sahrawis celebrated.
