Washington / Morocco Board News--   MoroccoBoard TV Has recently covered a major conference on Morocco in Washington that was organized by The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED). The MBTV coverage followed up with interviews with conference participants...

“Beyond Morocco’s Elections: Prospects for Genuine Reform?” examined the Moroccan political scene surrounding Morocco’s November 25 legislative elections. The panel included Anouar Boukhars, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies at McDaniel College, Marina Ottoway, Senior Associate at the Middle East Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Ahmed Benchemsi of Stanford University’s Program on Arab

Reform and Democracy. Charles Dunne, Director for Middle East and North Africa Programs at Freedom House, moderated the discussion.

Dunne offered introductory remarks in which he noted that although Morocco does not receive ample attention, it is an important “test case.” Morocco can demonstrate whether “any authoritarian government can respond effectively to the upheavals of the Arab Spring through a process of managed, top-down change.” Dunne added that the monarchy faces many challenges, including continuing protests from the February 20 movement among others, as well as the persistence of the economic problems that sparked the unrest. He also mentioned that many Moroccans are wary of sweeping change, and are “cautious” about “embracing it.” Lastly, Dunne stated that the fate of Morocco’s internal stability holds implications for the region and the U.S.

Boukhars analyzed the challenges facing political parties, arguing that voter confidence in existing political parties to effectively utilize the “greater mobility” allowed by Morocco’s new constitution is scarce. “Pluralities are still skeptical,” he said, and enthusiasm is lacking among the populace. Boukhars also mentioned several possible outcomes of Morocco’s parliamentary elections, asserting that concern that the PJD will win a vast majority is “overblown.” One reason the PJD will not fare as well as some analysts predict, he said, is that the Islamist vote is divided. Furthermore, “districting laws disadvantage Islamists.” If the PJD were to win, it would likely experience great difficulty in forming a coalition to govern, effectively lending credence to the claims that voting will fail to change the political landscape in Morocco. Boukhars added that given the new constitutional reforms, political parties have an “unprecedented opportunity” to push for democratic reform. He concluded by posing the question of whether Morocco’s political parties would take advantage of this opportunity.

implemented in an array of different fashions.” The constitution, she added, does not clearly provide for a constitutional monarchy; rather, it allows to king to govern. Ottoway noted that Moroccan political parties have not been utilizing the political space allowed by the new constitution. She stated that regardless of the election results, the parties will not put much pressure against the monarchy.

Ottoway then discussed the February 20 movement, noting that it is a loose group without a clear leadership hierarchy: “It’s almost too democratic for its own good in the sense that it really doesn’t have a strong leadership structure,” which makes it “very difficult to have a coherent direction.” She stated that the leftist parties in Morocco are “leftovers” from the past, “more of a marginal factor.” The Justice and Charity party, while more likely to be a significant force, is not likely to participate in the elections.

Benchemsi disagreed with Boukhars’ argument that the upcoming elections would reveal whether or not parties could effectively utilize their newfound mobility. Benchemsi asserted that these elections are “not that important,” as “the main factor in Morocco is the balance of strength between the monarchy and all other forces.” He also stated that the king’s introduction of constitutional reforms was a “skillful play” intended to crush momentum on the street rather than a genuine promise of change. Benchemsi added that the official statistic of 98.5% of voters in favor of July’s constitutional referendum revealed egregious fraud. He called the new constitution “perverse,” and enumerated the ways in which a “smokescreen” created the illusion of change while protecting the king’s hegemony.

During the question and answer session, Boukhars stated that among the trends indicating positive change in Morocco is that youth within political parties are beginning to challenge political veterans in their organizations. An attendee asked whether continuing economic woes would “be a push for another major uprising.” Benchamsi affirmed the power of economic problems to fuel unrest, adding that the “regional spirit of the Arab spring” could be reinvigorated in Bashar al-Assad were to fall.

Ottoway said that “Morocco is ahead of any other monarchy” in the region in terms of responding to calls for reform. “This is the one Arab monarchy that has at least taken small steps,” she added. An attendee inquired about Moroccans who oppose the constitution as well as the monarchy. Benchemsi and Ottoway agreed that those who “want the fall of the Monarchy in Morocco,” also known as republicans, are “marginal.”


Three speakers have participated and and spoken about the current situation in Morocco.
Ahmed Benchemsi:   Visiting scholar at Stanford University's Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law
Anouar Boukhars:  Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies, McDaniel College
Marina Ottaway:  Senior Associate, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
And the Moderator: Charles Dunne: Director for Middle East and North Africa Programs, Freedom House

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moun3im said:

... Pourquoi les élections législatives au Maroc sont un échec Abdelilah Benkirane, leader du PJD (Ilhem Rachidi) Les élections législatives qui se sont déroulées au Maroc vendredi sont les troisièmes depuis que Mohamed VI est roi du Maroc, les premières depuis le Printemps arabe et l'adoption de la nouvelle constitution, en juillet. Le taux de participation officiel à ces élections est de 45% des Marocains inscrits sur les listes électorales. A l'issue de ce scrutin, le parti de la justice et du développement (le PJD), regroupant des islamistes dits « modérés », sort vainqueur. Le PJD est le premier parti en nombre de suffrages recueillis et en nombre de sièges de députés à la chambre des représentants ; L'analyse des premiers résultats de ces élections appelle plusieurs commentaires. 1Le taux de participation annoncé est décevant Tout d'abord, constatons que ces élections ont été organisées comme d'habitude par le ministère de l'Intérieur, le même qui a organisé le référendum constitutionnel du 1er juillet dernier qui a connu un taux de participation officiel de plus de 72% pour un oui à plus de 99%. Cinq mois après, ce score laisse toujours quelque peu songeur. Dès lors, bien que le taux de participation officiel pour ces élections législatives peut à première vue paraître plausible, on est cependant pas toujours rassuré sur sa fiabilité. Contrairement à ce qu'on lit et on entend dans les médias marocains et les médias français, ces élections, par le taux de participation, sont un échec. 45% de participation pour des élections législatives, c'est peu ! Même si ce taux est plus élevé que les 37% des dernières législatives de 2007, il reste faible pour l'enjeu du scrutin. Il reste inférieur au taux de participation des législatives de 2002 et surtout au taux de participation officiel au dernier réferendum constitutionnel. Quasiment 30% de moins qu'il y a cinq mois, c'est beaucoup ! La chute est brutale, même si ce n'est pas le même type de scrutin ! Cette faible participation constitue d'abord un échec pour le roi et pour la réforme constitutionnelle qu'il a contrôlée de bout en bout en ne renonçant qu'à très peu de prérogatives qu'il détenait dans la précédente constitution. En ne participant que faiblement à ces législatives, les Marocains disent, notamment, qu'ils ne croient pas dans la nouvelle organisation des institutions, telles qu'elles sont prévues dans la nouvelle constitution. 2Les principaux partis ont obtenu des scores décevants Ensuite, ce taux de participation et les résultats obtenus par les partis politiques constituent un échec pour ces derniers. Il s'agit d'un échec pour ceux qui étaient la locomotive de la coalition du G8, laquelle fédérait huit formations, dont les principales dites du « Palais » : le RNI, conduit par le ministre des Finances sortant ; le PAM, créé il y a trois ans à l'initiative de l'ancien ministre de l'Intérieur et proche du roi Ces deux partis fédèrent des personnalités opportunistes et particulièrement dociles vis-à-vis du Palais, et sont arrivés troisièmes et quatrièmes. Ce taux et le résultat obtenu par l'autre coalition, la Koutla, composée des trois « vieux » partis, dont l'Istiqlal, premier parti marocain et parti ayant mené la lutte pour l'indépendance, et l'USFP (socialiste) marquent un échec de ces derniers. Ils sont certes respectivement deuxième et cinquième de ce scrutin mais ils ont perdu, depuis longtemps, quasiment toute crédibilité, ayant participé notamment aux deux précédents gouvernements qui ne faisaient qu'appliquer la politique dictée par le roi (le gouvernement sortant était d'ailleurs conduit par le responsable du parti de l'Istiqlal). De même, ce taux de participation, faible, mais pas suffisamment faible, ne constitue qu'un demi-succès pour le mouvement du 20 février et pour les partis qui appelaient au boycott. Toutefois, ce taux reste trop « élevé » pour délégitimer complètement le résultat de ces élections. Enfin, le résultat de ces élections n'est qu'un succès en trompe l'œil pour le PJD. Certes, il est aujourd'hui le premier parti, mais pour un parti qui normalement mobilise son électorat, il n'obtient que 30% des suffrages sur 45% de participation. Concrètement, le PJD ne pèse en réalité qu'environ 15% des inscrits ! Sa légitimité est donc toute relative. 3Pour le PJD, les alliances possibles restent floues Si les résultats de ce scrutin sont fiables, plusieurs questions se posent et plusieurs conséquences doivent être tirées. Tout d'abord, en application de la nouvelle constitution, le roi est obligé d'appeler comme Premier ministre un membre du PJD. Ce dernier sera donc un intégriste « modéré ». Ensuite, ne disposant pas de majorité absolue et devant formellement obtenir la confiance de la chambre des représentants, le PJD va devoir trouver des partis alliés pour former un gouvernement et avoir une majorité au parlement. Avec qui va-t-il pouvoir s'allier ? Avec l'Istiqlal, dont une frange conservatrice dit ne pas être en incompatibilité avec le PJD, ce qui risquerait de créer de très fortes tensions avec son aile plus progressiste, notamment sur les questions de société, de droit des femmes, droit à l'avortement, le rapport à l'alcool etc. Va-t-il trouver un allié avec l'USFP, parti qui se déclare progressiste mais aujourd'hui discrédité ? Ou va-t-il trouver des alliés parmi les partis politiques du G8, dont le RNI et le PAM, les partis du « palais » ? Quel rôle pour le palais dans l'après-scrutin ? Par ailleurs, le roi (et le palais) va-t-il s'immiscer dans la formation d'une majorité et d'un gouvernement ? Va-t-il imposer des ministres ? Auquel cas, on aura bien la preuve que toute la réforme constitutionnelle pour démocratiser le système politique n'aura été qu'une mascarade. Dans tous les cas, il ne faut surtout pas un gouvernement d'union nationale avec cinq ou six partis ! Ça empêcherait la structuration du champ politique marocain, avec une opposition qui serait en réalité factice. Surtout, cela signerait la continuation du système qui a eu cours depuis des décennies. Enfin, les partis politiques vont devoir tirer les enseignements de ce scrutin. Les dirigeants de ces partis vont devoir accepter, pour certains, d'entrer dans l'opposition, de faire leur travail d'opposition, de renouveler le personnel, de reconstruire un projet politique cohérent et non pas se contenter d'être des courtisans d'une monarchie qui contrôle tout.

11/27/11

demdouma1 said:

To vote or not to vote Does it make a difference to vote or not, in both cases it will not make a difference. Moroccans are resolute at not voting, this apathy had been simmering over 30 years it is shambles. King M6 had been deliberately misleading his people all these years and moroccans had frankly enough enough. The fight for freedom will not be easy the king has a private army of disenfranchised citizen who can be easily bought at the right price. The elite have enough cash to pour on the status quo at the moment. Things will get worse, a lot worse as people will realise after few months that the contract between them and the king had not been fulfilled. blood will be spilled (i hope it does not)and the king will have to go back to the drawing board. the RIGHTS are never given they are always taken. Our hope and expectations are so high the elite and king do not understand them, yet they are very basic in nature. the freedom to express yourself, the right to good education (not the mosaic of poor educational programs francofony is one) good healthcare system(very poor standards in hospital and untold tragedies within the wards of the hospitals) cruelty beyond belief. i have come across some cases of serious neglect and an impotent judicial procedures for basic redress. As you have no dignity(any low level figure of authority can get you in trouble) for trouble you are not in any way part of( i know people that have started avoiding the whole commisariat process or courts as they cannot afford the fees (bribes) to get back their dignity or their property. i for once had a personal incident where the courts have after few years been awarded my father his property back and for the accused to pay him damages. well guess what he died before seeing any penny from the courts.the executive were not willing to apply the order as they were bribed.you cant help but feel delusionned about the whole system Each moroccan i know has grievances against this system(makhzen). the status quo with this regime is simply not working as now it is hitting hard the middle classes. a constant erosion of human rights only lead to one thing. REVOLUTION WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS REGIME. it just feels like a cancer or worst it feels like an occupation(similar to the zionists in Palestine). you feel wronged and confused they are playing on your emotions. We want you to vote they start begging. what is the point i ask them. the referendum had been voted 98%(Plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose). If the change is not coming from the top (china india brazil) things will never get better. M6 cannot defy history by being a despot and stay in power for long. if he is clever and his entourage care just a little bit they will see that things have changed for good in Morocco. People have seen that there is a better way to govern. The problem is will the king be on the bus with the people for the journey of change or will that be too much asking. Tomorrow is a farce and will lead nowhere in the scale of expectations.But remember the People will win at the end of the day.

11/24/11

Aziz El Alami said:

... Thanks for the positive feedback MP, but I can’t take full credit for the joke… I borrowed it from an apartheid Zionist friend of mine :-)) OMG!!! You now have to un-like the joke!!!! But seriously dude, I appreciate you having hard time disliking me – you can start by spelling my name correctly! My name has way too many z’s as is and does not need any more :-)) So, repeat after me: I, MP, will address Mr. Alami as Aziz with one z. Got it? I, on the other hand, never disliked you… I just don’t agree with you most of the time :-)) Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hijri!

11/24/11

Moroccan Patriot said:

Azziz, I loved the joke! It is hard to dislike someone when they make you laugh. That was a very funny joke, and an excellent analogy. I never thought I would ever agree with you on anything, so I guess we should NEVER say NEVER.

11/24/11

riffi said:

... sad video.we should not have that in morocco ,i am glad the moroccan tv medi1 showed it.i can promise you that in six months that place will be build and every body will have a home.that's how we work in morocco we just put the fire out only when the s**t hit the fan.the moroccan elite mentality does not know how to be proactive but reactive,even if they come from the best university like the pont et chausse.the culture has to change if not then the big leaders have to go one way or another.what it is happening now in morocco is like when you are in the bar and the bartender is calling for the last call. this is it my friends if nothing happen with this election and the new governement the future of our homeland will be dark.

11/23/11

Morcelli said:

... Here is a real life example that I just heard yesterday from back home. A young man who is very ill needs to be hospitalized, his family who are what we call middle class, tried to get him to a private clinic, the price was so exorbitant that they will never be able to afford it, they went to the public clinic, they were told that they have no room for him. On their way out not knowing what to do they met a woman who works at the clinic that they know, they told her the story, she asked them to wait, 10 minutes later, the woman came back and asked them to bring the young man to the clinic. All of a sudden an empty room for him showed up. In Morocco you have to be rich or connected to survive. You have no right to get sick, otherwise your ass is grass. Life has no value and no one gives a damn if you live or die. Now can someone please tell me how someone you "elect" will be able to solve the problem I mentioned above? If we would have a fair judicial system, the hospital staff will never be able to reserve the room for the have and the connected. People care about health care, good education, food on the table, decent housing, and jobs. We are electing people whose sole existence in life is to impose their god on you. Everything in Morocco is now hijacked by the religion even though the real problems has nothing to do with religion, god, Mohammed, or Jesus. To make it short, fair or flawed Elections are not the problem, the problem is the judicial system, you can never have fair elections if no fair judicial system is in place. Elections make a difference in France, the US, Finland, or Norway. In Morocco, elections is just another way for business as usual.

11/23/11

Aziz El Alami said:

Great Analogy!!! Un enfant demande a son Papa: "explique moi ce qu'est la politique?" Le Papa renond: "ce'est tres simple. Je vais to donner un example: Dans notre famille, c'est moi qui rapporte de l'argent, je suis donc le Capitalist. Ta Maman gere cet argent, elle est donc le Gouvernement. Grand Pere verifie si tous se passe bien, il est donc le Parlement. La bonne est la class ouvriere. Nous avons qu'un seul but: ton bie etre, tu est donc le Peuple. Ton petit frere encore dans le berceau, nous dirons qu'il est l'Avenir. L'enfant a bien ecoute! La nuit tombe, chucun s'en va au lit... L'enfat, dand le sommeil entend so petit frere qui pleur! Il va voir, en fait, le petit frere a fais caca dans son linge! Quoi fair??? Il va dans la chambre de ses parent, et s'apercoit que maman est sule au lit et dort. Ne voulon pas la reveiller, il va a la chambre de la bonne et la, il trouve son papa dans le lit de la juene fille. Il vois le grand-pere qui regard par la fenetre... Ayant peur, il va se recoucher et s'endort. Le lendemain, le Papa demade: "Alors mon fils, tu as reflechis et compris?" le garcon repond: "oui papa, ta definition est tres claire -- Le Capitaliste profite de la Classe Ouvriere pendant que le Governement dort, et le parlement regarde sans rien dire; on s'en fout de ce que le Peuple et l'Avenir est dans la merde".

11/23/11

Morcelli said:

... Thanks for sharing Aziz. Morocco has a long way to go. I do believe that we should repair the judicial system first and foremost. If we had a rule of law in place, that woman in the clip will have a toilet and her many kids will be in school. and the guy who said will vote for no one but for the king will have a job.

11/22/11

SAHRANE said:

ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE Well you gonna have more chance of the hell freezing over than the democracy as we know it taking hold in morocco ,by using the peaceful means ,like they say never go to a gun fight with a knife and furthermore the rights are taken and not given, so while the regime is using the poor to fight eachother by hiring goons and thugs to intimidate the protesters so the government look clean handed to the rest of the world by outsourcing the dirty job to the addicts and the police and military cadets in plain clothes ,and our friends here asking the blood suckers the king included to give up the purks and abolish the statu quo,I know that Christmas is around the corner ,but it’s a tall order,as far as rearranging the chairs on the titanic ,the political parties are a failure individually, combining them will only coumpound their failure,the elections and the constitution combo is a bate and switch,to alleviate the pressure that was on, from the arab spring.and now there is no more pressure the palace is growing arrogant and went back to business as usual ,I’m not a party pooper ,nor an agitator,but infortunately it gonna take an Egypt revolution style to bring a real change.otherwise you’re keeping the same players hoping for different outcome,and I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed big time.

11/22/11

Aziz El Alami said:

... We are not there yet… I came across this 4 minute clip and wanted to share it with my fellow MorrocoBoarders… Please post. Thank you, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQLaWJnXBWI&feature=share

11/22/11

haras said:

... All of this was indeed predicted and predictable... The people needed to reflect on those issues rather than "King powers" under the constitution, a good constitution is not a guarantee of a flourishing democracy. Just remember all the political crises Italy was going through in the 80s and 90s. Before the elections we needed to review the electoral code, especially reducing the number of parliamentarians and maybe lose the second house. Reducing the number of parliamentarians to 150 or 200 would have allowed us to avoid the retail politics that have been going on for a while now... The government also needed to reinforce democracy and transparency within the parties and, more importantly, insist they clean up their finances, since they receive public money, they should be treated like public institutions. Also, no funding should be provided to parties who don't reach a certain threshold in elections, just like in the US. Most of those parties were created or divided under old laws that were meant to disintegrate the political scene and provide Hassan 2 with the "arbitrage" role, we need to dismantle the whole system if we really want the political parties to play their role. Even so, I am not sure any political party will be able to reach the 40%, the islamists are divided between Al Adl and PJD, the leftists are divided and the extreme left is even more divided, the parties who claim to be nationalist range from the Istiqlal to Al Harrakat (3 or 4 I don't know), and the liberals are super divided as well...

11/22/11

Morcelli said:

... If no matter who wins the elections can never receive more than 20% of the vote, then how can you possibly have a sincere democratic elections? If the results of the elections for anything that the king supports is 98% and up, then that is an insult to all Moroccans who were lucky to be schooled and understand the process. The good thing is that the king does not insult many, we have 50% of the population who is illiterate and those who were schooled have too much on their place to worry about who will win or lose the elections. We also have about 30 political parties, if that is not meant to be confusing and clever way to prevent anyone from getting a majority vote, i do not know what it is. Here is in my opinion the biggest problem Moroccans face. All these elections laws were formed during the authoritarian regime of Hassan II aided by Driss Lbasri, if these 2 leaders are gone, why do we have to keep their malicious tactics? Unfortunately those who are asking for a change are not asking for what needs to be changed other than the vague demands such as corruption, bribery...etc. You cannot end the ills of Morocco if you do not end what Hassan II and his allies have created. The judicial system created by those leaders is so flawed and it is only intended to keep the apprehend on the Moroccan population. M6 so far have not refused any demand, he actually gave more than what he was asked to give, you know why? because the elites are the ones who ask, and so far they only asked for one thing and one thing only: To keep the status quo. The change will not serve the elites well, Look at Egypt, Mubarak is gone, the elites are still there. Every is saying that the PJD will win the next elections and I have no doubt that they will win, but does it really matter whoever wins? of course not. No matter who is elected in Morocco will never be able to change a thing because the procedures placed by Hassan II and never contested by anyone are still in place. I am afraid that Morocco needs a revolution and not an evolution, I want to see a revolution led by the king himself. He is the only one who can shake things up, if he is really serious about democracy and the rule of law, the buck stops with him and him only.

11/22/11

riffi said:

... but morcelli reda also said he was not happy with the 20 of february movemet for not been organize,he also credited the king in saying"the king told them ,you want a democrati and new constitution,here it is".the movement did not participate and did not bring to the table anything except the boycot.mizza

11/21/11

Morcelli said:

... First and foremost I would like to thank MB for bringing to its readers this interesting videotaped workshop about the upcoming elections in Morocco, the constitution, Feb 20, political parties, the king, ect. If you have not been following what's going on in Morocco in the last few months, this workshop is certainly a refresher. Anouar and Mr Marina Ottaway basically mentioned what you read and hear from different news media, Reda that I credit for his insight, did something different, he broke the subject into pieces and gave few examples showing that no matter who wins the elections, the winner can never be more than 20% of the voters and no matter what happens with the new constitution, the king will always rule and govern. The political parties remain weak even after they were given the opportunity to speak for the people, they all said that this constitution is a courageous step toward democratic Morocco. They never asked for a bolder and true change. One thing I need to add is that M6 and his Elites are so genius that they gave the impression that change is in the air, the world inside and outside Morocco are under the impression that Morocco is changing, Yes it is changing, but it is changing to solidify the wishes of the king an his elite. Mr. Reda hit the nail on the head that no one is talking about the 98% yes vote. It's a number that shows the massive fraud that take place in Morocco, he said that he agrees that elections are free in Morocco, you can be free to vote but what's done with your vote that counts. If you have an hour and a half to kill, these video clips are great. Thanks again MB!!!

11/21/11

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