During the last legislative, regional and local elections held in Morocco on September 08, 2021, the two regions of the Sahara had the highest turnout across all Moroccan regions, despite the constraints imposed by the measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ambassador Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the UN, said on Thursday in New York that the new resolution adopted by the Security Council on the Moroccan Sahara enshrines in an "irreversible way" the pre-eminence, credibility and seriousness of the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the only solution to this regional dispute within the framework of the Kingdom's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The United Arab Emirates reaffirmed, on Thursday at the UN Security Council, its "full" support to the Moroccan autonomy plan and the Kingdom's sovereignty over its Sahara.

"My country renews its full support to the Kingdom of Morocco and its sovereignty over the Moroccan Sahara," said the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the UN, Amiera Al Hefeiti, who was speaking after the vote by members of the Security Council of resolution 2654 extending the mandate of MINURSO to 31 October 2023.

he United Nations Security Council decided on Thursday to extend the mandate of MINURSO for one year, while enshrining, once again, the preeminence of the Moroccan autonomy initiative to resolve the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

The Security Council "decides to extend the mandate of MINURSO until 31 October 2023," reads the text of Resolution 2654, authored by the United States. The resolution was adopted by 13 votes in favor and two abstentions.