§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the registration of voters in the Western Sahara has now been completed; what assessment he has made of the extent to which parties accept that this has been done in a fair way; and when the referendum on the future of the Western Sahara will take place.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe deadline for the submission by the parties of applications to vote passed on 25 October. Individuals can still register their applications. Polisario has expressed concern at the large number of last-minute applications submitted by the Moroccan authorities. The UN is still identifying the voter applicants. Despite the UN Secretary-General's recent announcement that additional UN offices will be opened to process applications, this exercise is expected to take several months. It is unlikely that the referendum will be held before next summer.