MINURSO - United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara

Identification of Eligible Voters

Establishment of the Identification Commission (IDC)

Saharan woman at the IDC desk 1. The IDC was established as part of MINURSO under Security Council resolution 690 of 29 April 1991 following a recommendation by the Secretary-General ( S/22464 of 19 April 1991). The Commission was to identify individuals eligible to vote in the referendum for the self-determination of Western Sahara. Once the identification process was complete, a Referendum Commission was to replace the IDC and take charge of operations related to the referendum, which was scheduled to take place in January 1992.

2. Due to differences between Morocco and POLISARIO over eligibility criteria, the IDC mandate and terms of reference could only be finalized in mid - 1993 (Secretary-General's report S/26/95 of 28 July 1993)

A sharan man sitting in a voting room Revision of the Spanish census (June - November 1993)

3. In May 1993, an advance team of IDC staff was deployed. Their initial task was to revise and update, on the basis of information provided by the parties, the Spanish census of 1974, which listed 74.343 people. The revision process identified 1.498 deceased and 484 cases of duplication of names. Thus, the revised census list included 72.361 names. It was transmitted to the parties in November 1993.

Registration (November 1993 - October 1994)

4. On 3 November 1993 identification and registration of the eligible voters started in earnest. Registration forms were submitted by the 25 October 1994 deadline as follows:

Registration forms received from Western Sahara:	83.970
Registration forms received from Morocco:	99.225
Registration forms received from Algeria (Tindouf):	42.378
Registration forms received from Mauritania:	19.070

Total:	244.643 applicants

5. The registration forms included a questionnaire in Arabic, French or Spanish seeking information on the applicant’s identity, tribe and sub-fraction, family relationships, the number in the Spanish census, if any, and present residence. The IDC provided the forms to Morocco and POLISARIO and it carried out direct registration in Mauritania.

Criteria for Eligibility

Delegates from the parties 6. In order to be assessed for eligibility by the IDC, applicants were expected to meet two preliminary criteria: (i) be a member of a Saharan sub-fraction, as defined by the Spanish census of 1974; (ii) be born before 31 December 1975. Many applicants born after 31 December 1975 were classified ‘under age’ by the IDC and were placed on a separate voters' list to be used if the parties agreed.

7. Once the preliminary criteria were met, the IDC then screened applicants against criteria for eligibility. As negotiated by the parties, the criteria were:

(i) Being listed in the Spanish Census revised list; or

(ii) When not in the revised list, providing evidence of being resident in Western Sahara at the time of the Census; or

(iii) Being an immediate family member (mother, father, son, daughter) of an individual who would qualify under Criteria (i) or (ii); or

(iv) Being a member of an eligible sub-fraction whose father was born in the Territory, within its present boundaries; or

(v) Being a member of an eligible sub-fraction who had been residing in the Territory for a period of either six (6) consecutive years or twelve (12) intermittent years prior to 1 December 1974.

Identification (August 1994 - December 1999)

8. The IDC established identification centres in Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Algeria (Tindouf). The identity of applicants was verified by a commission composed of MINURSO officials, delegates of Morocco, POLISARIO and OAU observers. Launched on 28 August 1994, the identification process was suspended in December 1995 due to disagreements between the parties. It started again in December 1997, following the Houston Agreement of September 1997.

Delegates from the parties First Phase of Identification (August 1994 - September 1998)

9. Applicants convoked: 179.437 (69.913 Territory, 54.238 Morocco, 39.883 Tindouf, 15.366 Mauritania); Applicants responding: 147.249 (61.189 Territory, 45.858 Morocco, 34.764 Tindouf, 5.438 Mauritania);Eligible voters included in the first provisional list: 84,262 (40.698 Territory, 5.558 Morocco, 33.790, Tindouf, 4.216 Mauritania).

10. Applicants from Morocco were residents of the former Spanish Southern Protectorate (Tantan, Tarfaya, Assa-Zag), of the region of Goulimine and of the former Spanish enclave of Sidi Ifni.

Second Phase of Identification (June - December 1999)

11. Applicants convoked: 64.188 (14.645 Territory, 44.740 Morocco, 1.125 Tindouf, 3.678 Mauritania);Applicants responding: 51.220 (12.447 Territory, 37.372 Morocco, 667 Tindouf, 734 Mauritania); Eligible voters included in the second provisional list: 2.163 (463 Territory, 1.308 Morocco, 213 Tindouf,179 Mauritania).

12. Criteria were the same as those applied in the first phase. Following agreement between the parties, applications could be submitted directly to the IDC, either in person or by mail. The Saharan tribal groupings of the Spanish census which had migrated to Morocco (Casablanca, Rabat, Zagora, Meknes, Kelaa el Shragna, Taroudant, Tata, Goulimine, Sidi Kassem) were accepted for identification .

Total included in the two provisional lists issued in January 2000 : 86.425 (84.262+2.163) Appeal Process (September 1999 - April 2000)

13. Applicants could submit individual appeals according to the following rules:

(i) Appeals against exclusion from the provisional voter list:

applicants who filed a form with the IDC prior to 13.11.97 and had not been convoked or identified;

applicants who had been called by the IDC, but could not appear before it, provided a written justification reached the IDC within 30 days from the date of convocation;

applicants who did not fall into the category above under 7(v), but could present some evidence or new development that justified a reconsideration from the members of the IDC;

applicants whose name appeared on the revised list of 1991 but had not been called by the IDC, and whose application was prior to 3 September 1998.

(ii) Appeal against inclusion in the provisional voter list:

individuals who had been included on mistaken identity;

individuals who did not qualify according to article 5 of the above-mentioned document;

Conclusion

Pre identification phase 15. As set out in the Secretary-General's Report no. S/2001/613 (20 June 2001) to the Security Council, the IDC encountered difficulties in the implementation of the appeal procedures. Pending a wider political settlement of the future of Western Sahara, the IDC was wound up

The scaling down of IDC began in January 2002. Once the electronic archiving of the documentation of the Commission was completed, all the material was transferred to the archives of the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland. The IDC was closed in March 2004.