The article published by Africa Intelligence on February 20, 2026, titled “Western Sahara: A Clash Without a Winner at the African Union,” highlights a significant diplomatic and legal episode within the African Union.
Beyond the mere electoral question, this episode reveals the depth of the political confrontation between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) over the Peace and Security Council (PSC), the most strategic body of the continental organization.
A Legal Opinion with Political Implications
At the heart of the controversy was the SADR’s candidacy for the PSC. In December 2025, the AU’s legal counsel was consulted and issued an opinion—though not officially published, it was reviewed by Africa Intelligence—examining the eligibility criteria set out in the Council’s statutes.
One of these criteria requires candidate states to maintain sufficiently staffed permanent missions to the African Union and the United Nations, as PSC members are expected to coordinate their work with the UN Security Council. Since the SADR is not a member of the United Nations, it is, in practice, unable to meet this condition.
However, the crucial point is that the legal opinion did not explicitly conclude that this resulted in automatic ineligibility. It noted a structural difficulty but referred the final decision to the political organs of the African Union. In other words, the debate remained open.
Strategic Withdrawal and Sahrawi Response
A few days before the vote, the Sahrawi mission to the AU announced its withdrawal from the race and its support for the Libyan candidacy. This withdrawal did not amount to an admission of irregularity. In a diplomatic note cited by Africa Intelligence, Sahrawi diplomacy instead questioned the legality of Morocco’s candidacy, referring to the “illegal occupation of part of the territory of the Sahrawi Republic.”
This stance reflects a political reading of the process: the battle is not limited to a technical issue but relates to the fundamental question of Western Sahara’s status and the consistency of AU principles.
A Double-Edged Precedent
The article also notes that PSC eligibility criteria have not been applied with systematic rigor for nearly twenty years. Invoking them selectively against the SADR alone could expose the African Union to accusations of double standards.
For its part, Morocco—reintegrated into the AU in 2017—has sought to consolidate its influence within the organization. Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita intensified bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Addis Ababa summit to strengthen support for Morocco’s position on Western Sahara.
Nevertheless, as the French outlet observes, several African states continue to adopt a cautious stance, refusing to align openly with a logic of excluding the SADR.
A Confrontation That Remains Political
This episode resulted in neither a decisive legal victory nor a formal defeat. It does, however, confirm that the Western Sahara issue remains a structuring factor within the African Union.
The legal opinion did not close the debate but instead highlighted a persistent tension between formal criteria and political arbitration. In this context, the next PSC elections, scheduled for 2028, could reopen the discussion.
The sequence described by Africa Intelligence thus shows that the institutional confrontation between Rabat and the SADR continues—not only on the traditional diplomatic stage but at the very core of the African Union’s normative mechanisms.
Victoria G. Corera
Source: No olvides el Sahara Occidental ” Platform
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