UN says most votes in referendum will be made inside Moroccan territory
Morocco, Politics, 8/18/1999

Special representative of the UN secretary general for the Sahara, William Eagleton, said most Sahrawis will vote for the referendum inside the Moroccan territory, apart from three or four centers.

In an interview with Moroccan daily "L'Opinion," the UN official said the MINURSO (French acronym for UN mission supervising the referendum in the Sahara) has so far respected the major stage of the settlement plan timetable despite some minor difficulties that disturbed the start of the timetable. He hoped that a solution will be found to these difficulties in the coming weeks, citing another dispute regarding the skills of the staff supervising the identification of voters.

To a question on the provisional voters lists published by the UN, Eagleton said there is a "misunderstanding," adding "after the identification commission's endeavor to lift all possible ambiguities and errors regarding the 80,000 or 85,000 persons who were not included in the provisional lists, there was only 46,000 names on the Moroccan side instead of the 50,000 who appeared on the provisional lists." He also conceded that there were certainly some errors, but what is important is that the lists were published and that persons who were not included in the lists were given the right to appeal the decision.

"As it was proposed by Morocco, any persons entitled to take part in the referendum can apply to enjoy this right: if they meet the criteria, they will be entitled to vote and will be included in the lists," he added.

After he recalled that some 165,000 persons were covered by the identification operation, the UN secretary general's special representative said he is not aware of the number of voters on the Moroccan side who will be selected after the end of the appeals procedure.

Regarding the repatriation of persons sequestered by the secessionist guerilla "Polisario" in the Lahmada camps, the UN official said there have been meetings to work out the repatriation program. "We are working with the High Commissioner for Refugees and we have met to prepare an official repatriation program. In the meantime, we are also discussing it with the two sides to see if they agree," he added citing the drafting of a "program of confidence-building measures," including the exchange of visits, letters and phone calls between Sahrawi population living on the two sides.

Asked on the results of his talks with authorities in the region, the UN official said there is nothing in the Algerian policy that seems to stand on the way of the referendum, while Mauritanians are less involved in the issue and in Morocco there is the same political will to have the referendum held.

Previous Stories:
  UN security council takes note of significant progress in Sahara settlement plan implementation   (8/18/1999)
  Referendum will be held after identification of all Sahrawis, Youssoufi says   (8/16/1999)
  Senegal says debate on exclusion of Polisario entity from African fold will resume   (8/11/1999)

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