U.N. mission identified 83,310 would-be voters in Sahara referendum

The U.N. mission for the referendum in the Sahara (MINURSO) has identified since last December 3 some 83,310 would-be voters in the referendum that the U.N. plans to hold in the area.

In a release faxed to Map, the MINURSO said some 111,959 persons have been convoked since last December 3. The MINURSO added that some 216 persons out of 248 convoked were identified on the day of July 31 alone.

The new figure brings to 143,422 the total number of persons identified since the operation first began in 1994.

The identification operation resumed last December 3 after almost a two-year suspension, due to the refusal of the Polisario to participate in the identification of some tribal groups driven outside the Sahara.

The referendum is designed to determine whether the Sahara sets up on its own or incorporates with Morocco.

Initially set for next December 7, the referendum will most likely be postponed until the beginning of 1999, due to delays in the identification operation.

Last month, the Security Council approved a resolution extending the MINURSO mandate for an additional two months that will expire on September 21, 1998.

The extension was voted to allow the MINURSO complete the identification process.

The MINURSO, which monitors a cease-fire observed since September 1991, includes 243 observers and other military personnel and 78 civilian police.