After the congress of the separatist movement polisario was extended to a full week, the election of the secretary general finally took place this Friday. And yes ! It is Brahim Ghali who will again remain in office for a period of three years.
The leader of the separatists, Brahim Ghali, was re-elected this Friday as secretary general of the militia for a three-year term, obtaining 1,253 votes, representing 69% of the total, while his rival, Bashir Mustafa Sayed, the brother of the founder of the polisario front won only 563 votes, or 31% of the votes, according to the separatist media.
This vote took place within the framework of the 16th congress which was held in southern Algeria, in which several Polisario leaders participated, to decide “on the future of the Sahrawi cause” and to establish the priorities of the movement, among which the formation of the secretariat and the election of the secretary general, that is to say the highest “authority” of the polisario.
During this meeting, the members of the Polisario adopted a sort of action plan which only aims to intensify the armed struggle. A deja vu since it’s the same card they played in 2020 after their unilateral withdrawal from the 1991 ceasefire agreement.
In addition, they denounced the lack of transparency in terms of financial management and demanded in this sense more transparency on expenditure in relation to the budget. This dissatisfaction expressed by the members of the separatist movement was justified by the constant increase in the wealth of the affiliates of the general secretariat while the populations of the camps are suffering.
On the other hand, the young Saharawis, disappointed, are still seeking a reform of the separatist system of the Polisario, and are calling for a renewal of the generations, especially since the conditions of access to power are discriminatory. You must be at least 40 years old and have military experience to apply for the post of secretary general.
” I think it is a request from all Sahrawis that there be a generational transition at the head of the Polisario. We hope that they will pass this test at the next congress, even if personally I am very pessimistic about the possibility of an opening within the polisario“, had once hoped Ahmed Barack Allah, the secretary general of the Sahrawi Movement for Peace (MSP).
Barack Allah had notably indicated that the MSP thinks that the Moroccan autonomy plan in the Sahara is a possible solution ” especially if it contains elements that guarantee that the Sahrawis can exercise their power through institutions with international guarantees and through an agreement with the King of Morocco, which is inevitable”. However, this solution goes against all the convictions of the leader of the Polisario front who seeks, like his disciples, only to create impasses and fuel tensions.