Some 127,472 applicants identified, 20,000 others remain

Some 127,472 applicants to participate in the Shaharan self-rule referendum have been identified so far, while some 20,000 other persons belonging to tribal groups other than the groups H41 and H61 and J/51/52 are yet to be convoked, the United Nations secretary-general said in a report to the Security Council.

"The process can be completed during the month of August, if the two parties (Morocco and the Polisario) cooperate fully," said Kofi Annan in his report, published on Friday.

The figures provided by Annan confirm those released recently by the U.N. mission for the referendum in the Sahara (Minurso), which said some 67,360 would-be voters have been identified since last December 3, when the operation resumed after almost a two-year suspension, bringing to 127,472 the total number of persons identified since the operation first began in 1994.

The problem of candidates belonging to the said groups is still pending and the consultations in this direction are being carried on, Annan said.

Once these consultations are completed, the Special Representative will present the results of his analysis and recommendations regarding the measures the United Nations should take to push the process forward, he added.

The Secretary-General urged the two parties to cooperate fully during the coming weeks to settle the pending issues so that it will be possible to reach an efficient plan and a realistic timetable for the final phase of the referendum process, he said.

The referendum, to which Morocco called, is designed to determine whether the Sahara, a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975, sets up on its own or incorporates into Morocco, Map reported.

Initially set for the end of the year, the vote will most likely be postponed to the beginning of 1999 in view of the obstacles erected by the Polisario to limit the electorate in the consultation.

Meanwhile, the deployment of the military and demining units of the Minurso was postponed until the settlement of the problem of arms and munitions holdings of the military personnel, Annan said.