Moroccan prime minister accuses Polisario of hampering voter identification

Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi accused the Polisario of being behind delays in the identification of would-be voters in the referendum that the United Nations plans to hold in the Sahara.

Youssoufi told French daily "Le Monde" that Morocco cooperates fully with the United Nations and voiced hope that the "world body will impose the respect of the Houston Accords and shelve the Sahara dossier this year."

A protracted United Nations plan to settle the Sahara issue through the holding of a self-determination referendum, was put back on track last year following the Houston accords, concluded between Morocco and the Polisario Front under the aegis of James Baker, then Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for the Sahara.

The accords paved the way for resuming efforts to identify would-be voters in the referendum after almost a two-year suspension.

Touching on relations between Morocco and Algeria, Youssoufi said he was ready to meet his Algerian counterpart, Map reported.

"I have already made moves in favor of dialogue with Algeria after I was appointed Prime Minister...I cannot imagine winding my term without doing anything for the Maghreb," Youssoufi said.

Moroccan-Algerian relations have been strained in the few past years in view of Algeria's direct involvement in the Sahara issue.

Algeria has always backed politically and financially the self-proclaimed "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic."