MOROCCO: Moroccans prepare to go to the polls for parliamentary elections, amidst calls by opposition activists to boycott the vote, which they say will produce a corrupt assembly

Record ID: 830751

  • Title: MOROCCO: Moroccans prepare to go to the polls for parliamentary elections, amidst calls by opposition activists to boycott the vote, which they say will produce a corrupt assembly
  • Date: 23rd November 2011
  • Summary: MEKNES, MOROCCO (NOVEMBER 19, 2011) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) VARIOUS OF AN ELECTORAL RALLY BY THE NATIONAL RALLY OF INDEPENDENTS (RNI) CANDIDATE FROM THE NATIONAL RALLY OF INDEPENDENTS ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE VARIOUS OF CROWD CHEERING
  • Embargoed: 8th December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Morocco, Morocco
  • Country: Morocco
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA21WBPKGROKWRDYBHX050QR8AX
  • Story Text: More than 13 million Moroccans are registered to vote in this week's parliamentary election, seen as a test of the commitment by the country's ruler, King Mohammed, to move his kingdom closer to democracy and cede some of his powers to elected officials.
    But, exactly how many people will head to the polls is anybody's guess as Moroccan opposition activists, inspired by "Arab Spring" uprisings, step up their calls for a boycott. They say it will produce a corrupt assembly unwilling to implement the radical reforms they believe the country needs.
    The monarch backed constitutional changes and brought the vote forward by 10 months as part of a plan by the palace to bring fresh faces into a government associated in the minds of many Moroccans with corruption.
    The government has been campaigning hard to encourage people to vote, not only by using traditional media such as television and posters, but also by sending text messages to people's mobiles.
    Many Moroccans are pinning high hopes on the next assembly.
    "We want a change in the partisan mentality. We want politicians to work for four years without interruption, not only during the week-long electoral campaign," said one man.
    "We hope to see good results at the end of these elections. We hope that three main topics will be addressed: education, health and justice," said a woman.
    The vote will almost certainly remove the present government, which many Moroccans associate with corruption and nepotism. Whoever takes over will nevertheless be no less loyal to the monarch.
    At issue is whether the election will hand power to the Coalition for Democracy, whose leaders are younger and perceived as less tainted by governing than many of those currently in power, or to the opposition Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). Both parties stress their loyalty to the monarchy.
    Morocco's moderate PJD party believes it can win the election buoyed by the resurgence of Islamists in the region since the 'Arab Spring' uprisings, but predict opponents will use fraud to try to keep them out of power.
    The party forecasts it will win 70-80 seats in the 395-member parliament, making it the biggest contingent and improving on its second place in the 2007 parliamentary election.
    Parliamentary elections in Morocco have often been marred by vote-buying although officials maintain they are democratic and transparent. The party's leader, Abdel Ilah Benikrane, says he hopes for clean and fair elections.
    "If we want things to change in the right direction, I believe that we are today facing the exam of these elections that should be fair 100 per cent. We don't want foreign observers to tell us this. We want the Moroccan citizen to feel it everywhere," said Benikrane.
    The PJD party stresses its support for the monarchy, in contrast to the Justice and Charity party, an Islamist opposition group which is banned and took part in demonstrations this year to demand radical democratic reform.
    The PJD appeals to Morocco's vast numbers of poor voters by focussing on economic and social issues. Its lawmakers are also known for being the most active in a parliament that has traditionally been plagued by high rates of absenteeism.
    The party's underlying popularity, and the shift in perception towards Islamists in the wake of the Arab Spring, mean this election could be different from previous polls.
    Under constitutional reforms backed by the monarch earlier this year, if the PJD emerges as the biggest group in parliament it will nominate the prime minister, though it will govern in a coalition with other parties.
    It says it will create a government alliance with three secularist groups, including Istiqlal, the party of the prime minister Abbas El Fassi.
    The PJD's main opponent in the election is a newly-formed alliance called the Coalition for Democracy. It promises a break with the staid politics of the past, but opponents say it is the establishment in a new guise. It is centred on a party founded by a friend of the king and the finance minister is one of its leaders.
    Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar says he believes his country won't follow other North African states in handing power to Islamists because it has a mature democracy.
    Mezouar, whose National Rally of Independents is one of eight parties making up the liberal coalition, said it was time for a break with the murky electoral practices of the past. He said it was important for people to turn out to vote.
    "I consider these elections, in the wake of adopting a new constitution following a massive turnout, are an essential phase in the building process. What we are doing today is encouraging the citizens and making them aware of the importance of going to the polls to choose their representatives. By doing so, we will have strong institutions, a strong parliament with a strong representatives and also a government that is strong and coherent," said Mezouar.
    The next government will have to re-balance public finances. The current government, in an effort to prevent "Arab Spring" unrest spreading to Morocco, spent heavily on increasing public wages and subsidizing staple goods.
    That has left little for major infrastructure projects that were planned to create jobs and stimulate growth.
    The biggest challenge facing the palace in the election is the risk that voters, disillusioned with a contest that many do not believe will bring real change to their lives, will stay at home on polling day, analysts say.
    Thousands of Moroccans protested in cities across the country on Sunday (November 20), calling for a boycott of the election.
    The pro-boycott camp, led by the February 20 Movement, says the vote just promises more of the same.
    "We boycotted the constitution comedy and we refused the granted constitution under which these elections are held. So, it is only natural and logical that we boycott these elections after boycotting the constitution," said Lina Nejmi, an activist with February 20 Movement.
    The authorities have also taken tougher measures to try to blunt the impact of the boycott campaign.
    Several activists, mostly from February 20 Movement, have been detained and interrogated by the police for distributing tracts that call for a boycott. Moroccan law does not explicitly ban calling for a boycott, and it was not clear on what charges the activists had been detained.
    The February 20 Movement's boycott campaign has been joined by Justice and Charity, the government-banned Islamist group.
    The movement in support of the boycott is unlikely to derail the election because it does not resonate with the majority of the population, who are not politically engaged and revere the king.
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