Referendum unlikely before 2002

A referendum to decide Western Sahara's future, originally set for 1992, now seems unlikely before 2002, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday. In a written report to the Security Council, he said that although he expected the voter identification process to be completed by the end of December, the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) might be faced with a lengthy process if it were to consider the tens of thousands of appeals against exclusion from the electoral rolls. "Under the circumstances, the prospect of holding the referendum within a reasonable period of time, instead of becoming closer, has become even more distant," Annan said. The referendum, which will give the people of the territory a choice between independence and integration with Morocco, had been delayed several times because of differences between the Moroccan Government and the Algeria-based, pro-independence Polarisio Front, particularly on the issue of voter eligibility. In his report Annan recommended that the Security Council extend MINURSO's mandate, which expires on 14 December, to 29 February 2000. This would allow time for completing the identification of eligible voters, issuing a second provisional voters' list and initiating appeals from people excluded from the voters' list, he said. Annan also said he had instructed his Special Representative, William Eagleton, to continue his consultations with both sides to reconcile their "widely divergent" views on the appeals process, the repatriation of refugees and other crucial issues.