MOROCCO: PEOPLE HAVE VOTED IN GENERAL ELECTION THE GOVERNMENT PROMISED WOULD BE THE FAIREST EVER AND WOULD INCREASE WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT

Record ID: 328696

  • Title: MOROCCO: PEOPLE HAVE VOTED IN GENERAL ELECTION THE GOVERNMENT PROMISED WOULD BE THE FAIREST EVER AND WOULD INCREASE WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT
  • Date: 29th September 2002
  • Summary: (EU)RABAT, MOROCCO (SEPTEMBER 27, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. SLV RABAT STREET SCENES; SLV EXTERIOR RAILWAY STATION (3 SHOTS) 0.15 2. SLV EXTERIOR MOROCCAN PARLIAMENT; SLV FOREIGN PRESS TRUCK (3 SHOTS) 0.28 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPANISH TELE5 JOURNALIST JOSEPH MARIN SAYING "Yes it's very important for all the world because here in Morocco it's a great day because it's a democratic election, fine for all the population here. It's very important for me because we are very proximitely (Spanish are neighbours) and our friends the Moroccans. It's a very important day because we are here to discover the democratic day here. We are sure that this is a fine conclusion for the election here." 1.07 4. SLV RABAT MAIN SQUARE 1.13 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOROCCAN STUDENT HANAN SAYING "I'm only nineteen years old. I'm not entitled to vote, that's why I'm not interested in politics." 1.25 6. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAN SAYING "As a Moroccan I hope and wish that these elections will be genuine then we will have a parliament which is really representative." 1.53 7. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) WOMAN "I hope to see new faces in the new house because the old Mps let us down and did nothing for Morocco." 2.04 8. SLV NEWSPAPER STAND; SCU NEWSPAPER HEADLINE READING (Arabic) "Will today's election be the first fair election?"; SLV NEWSPAPER STAND (3 SHOTS) 2.23 9. SLV EXTERIOR POLLING STATION; MV WOMEN ENTERING POLLING STATION TO VOTE; SCU /MV WOMAN HOLDING VOTING CARD AND ID CARD (4 SHOTS) 2.38 10. MV ELDERLY MAN REGISTERING/ENTERING BOOTH TO WRITE VOTE/; SCU SIGN READING (Arabic) "ENTER BOOTH"; MV MAN PLACING VOTE CARD IN BALLOT BOX/SCU MAN BEING FINGER PRINTED (7 SHOTS) 3.32 11. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEADER OF INITIATIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND CITIZENSHIP (CID) MOHAMED BIN HAMMOU SAYING "We are awaiting today the application of a democratic foundation for voting in Morocco and hope there to be a new political movement, new awareness, and new initiatives." 3.46 12. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CANDIDATE FOR POPULAR MOVEMENT PARTY SAYING "Thanks to God we carried out a legitimate campaign and received good feed back from the citizens and it was a sure wish from the citizens to achieve a true change." 3.59 13. MV WOMAN PLACING VOTE IN BALLOT BOX 4.07 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 14th October 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: RABAT, MOROCCO
  • Country: Morocco
  • Reuters ID: LVA8W6Z5010LKYSCF3D0J45HUEJK
  • Story Text: Moroccans have voted in a general election the
    government promised would be the fairest ever and which should
    greatly increase the number of women in parliament.

    The vote is the first since King Mohammed came to the
    throne in 1999 and is generally seen as a litmus test of the
    young monarch's cautious moves towards greater democracy.

    In a break from tradition in this Muslim nation of 30
    million, women-only national lists will ensure that at least
    30 women become members of parliament, up from only two at
    present.

    With an unprecedented media campaign on radio, television
    and the Internet, the government of socialist Prime Minister
    Abderrahmane el Youssoufi has spared no effort to convince
    Moroccans they should cast their ballot to foster democracy.

    "Moroccans felt cheated in all past electoral contests,"
    Youssoufi, 78, told Reuters on the eve of the polls. "Our aim
    is to organise real elections, untarnished ones".

    Turnout in the last parliamentary elections in 1997 was a
    low 58 percent amid allegations of vote-buying and fraud.

    But voter apathy after a dull and short 12-day electoral
    campaign and disillusionment about a political class seen as
    corrupt and aloof did not guarantee a higher turnout this time.

    "I'm only 19 years old. I'm not entitled to vote, that's
    why I'm not interested in politics," said student Hanan.

    Western-style parliamentary democracy is not entrenched in
    Morocco where the general perception is that real power lies
    in the hands of the king and a small group of close advisers.

    The monarch appoints the prime minister but also
    traditionally key ministers, such as for defence, foreign
    affairs and justice, together with top civil servants.

    "As a Moroccan I hope and wish that these elections will be
    genuine then we will have a parliament which is really
    representative," said one elderly man.

    King Mohammed, 39, has earned a reputation of a
    reform-minded, modern monarch with some bold moves that shook
    the tightly controlled apparatus inherited from his father
    King Hassan, whose autocratic rule lasted for 38 years.

    He has let prominent exiled political opponents return
    home, eased censorship and allowed inquiries into past human
    rights abuses, including the torture and disappearance of
    hundreds of political opponents in the 1960s and 1970s.

    With unemployment officially at 12 percent, 20 percent
    says the opposition, illiteracy at 61 percent of the
    electorate and more than five million living under the poverty
    line, or with the equivalent of $1 a day, Morocco does not
    lack challenges.

    Some 14 million voters are registered to elect 325 members
    of the lower house of parliament for a five-year term. Some
    5,873 candidates are representing a record 26 parties.

    Results are not expected until early on Saturday.

    Political analysts say a single parliamentary majority is
    unlikely to emerge because of the high number of parties and
    the fragmentation of power on the crowded political scene.

    While Youssoufi's Socialist Union of Popular Forces
    (USFP), which leads a seven-party government coalition, was
    expected to do reasonably well, it held 57 seats in the
    outgoing chamber, all eyes were on the Islamists.

    With the country's most radical Islamist group refusing to
    take part, only its ideological ally the moderate Islamist
    Justice and Development Party (PJD) is contesting the polls.

    With 224 candidates in 56 of the 91 constituencies, the
    PJD hoped to at least double its 14 seats.

    As part of its anti-fraud measures, the government has
    purchased 55,000 bottles of indelible ink for fingerprints to
    spot someone attempting to vote twice.

    To help illiterate voters, all parties have adopted logos
    on ballot papers.

    The USFP chose a purple rose, others a car, a horse or a
    key. For the Alliance of Liberties it is a clock while the
    Popular Movement opted for an ornamental dagger.


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