UN: High turnout of voters in Moroccan Sahara reflects their attachment to territorial unity (Morocco FM)

The massive participation of the population of the Moroccan Sahara in the elections of September 8 confirms its attachment to the territorial unity of the Kingdom, said Monday, Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita in his address made remotely to the ongoing 76th UN General Assembly.

This also confirms “the willingness of the population of the southern provinces to engage fully and effectively” in the implementation of the sustainable development project launched by King Mohammed VI in 2015, added the minister.

Through their massive participation in these elections, the voters of southern provinces of Morocco showed to the world that they live in peace and serenity and participate fully in the socioeconomic development of the region, as well as in the country’s political life, underlined the minister.

The voter turnout in the southern provinces, which was the highest at national level, reached 63%, he said.

Touching on the Sahara issue, the minister expressed Morocco’s readiness to continue to cooperate with the United Nations, building on the efforts made by the UN Secretary-General to reach a realistic and lasting political solution, based on compromise in full respect of the sovereignty of Morocco and its territorial integrity.

This solution can only be found if Algeria assumes its full responsibility in the political process of the round-table meetings due to its responsibility in the creation and maintenance of this conflict, he stressed, affirming that the autonomy plan presented by Morocco in 2007 remains the only way to advancing to a final political solution to this artificial regional dispute.

Since its independence, Morocco has placed the issue of supporting stability in its regional and international environment at the heart of its diplomacy, added the minister, noting that the Kingdom remains committed to working for a lasting settlement of the regional conflict over the Moroccan Sahara, in full respect of its territorial integrity and national sovereignty.

Morocco’s top diplomat voiced his country’s serious concern over the tragic humanitarian situation of the population in the Tindouf camps, wherein the host country, Algeria, has relinquished its responsibilities to a separatist armed group, in clear violation of international law.

The minister called on the international community to exert pressure on Algeria to force it honor its international commitments by allowing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to register and conduct a census of the Sahrawi population sequestered in the Tindouf camps.