Parliamentary elections - September 2002
Morocco's elections for the lower chamber of parliament in September 2002 and for local government councils in September 2003, were widely regarded as free and fair. Prior to the September Parliamentary elections, the Government decreed that any existing political party that had not participated in at least two elections would be dissolved and that public aid would not be granted to any party that did not hold a congress every four years. To create a new party, a declaration must be submitted to the Interior Ministry, signed by at least 1,000 co-founding members from all regions of the country. Before the election 37 parties were in existence (many created during the year) and 26 of them ran candidates in the elections.
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, the law also permits the Government to suppress peaceful demonstrations and mass gatherings, and at times during the year police forcibly prevented and disrupted gatherings. Most conferences and demonstrations required the prior authorization of the Ministry of Interior, ostensibly for security reasons. Local observers generally agreed that the authorities required a declaration of a public meeting and their own authorization in order for public-venue meetings to proceed, and the authorities only allowed meetings to proceed that they considered non-threatening.
In preparing for the 2002 elections, Parliament re-wrote the Electoral Code in its entirety. The new Code included a proportional list system, plus a novel "national list" of 30 seats reserved for women, as a means to increase dramatically the number of women in Parliament. By the time of elections, approximately 37 parties representing mainstream views were in existence, and 26 of them ran candidates. The Government conducted a massive voter education campaign. However, 61 percent of the electorate was illiterate, requiring the ballots to use symbols for all 26 parties. Fifty-two percent of those eligible voted, according to government statistics. The Interior Ministry publicized election violations and moved swiftly to investigate them and prosecute those responsible.
During the parliamentary elections in 2002, which were by most accounts the freest and fairest in Morocco to date, 28 political parties were officially registered at the Interior Ministry (MOI). Of the 26 that ran candidates, 22 won at least one seat in parliament's Chamber of Representatives (lower house). The government that was formed reflected a 6-party coalition grouping together conservatives with the former Communist party and including multiple political tendencies in between. The inability of the two main victors, the USFP and the Istiqlal Party, to agree on which should lead the government led in part to King Mohammed's decision to appoint technocrat and former Interior Minister Driss Jettou, who organized the elections, prime minister.
A large number of political parties were active in Morocco. After the parliamentary elections held on September 27, 2002, the five most successful parties, in order of the number of seats won, were the following: the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires-USFP), Istiqlal (Independence) Party (Parti d' Indépendance-PI), Justice and Development Party (Parti de la Justice et du Développement-PJD), National Rally of Independents (Rassemblement National des Indépendants-RNI), and Popular Movement (Mouvement Populaire-MP). Political parties founded on religious, ethnic, linguistic, or regional bases are prohibited by law. The Government permits several parties identified as "Islamic oriented" to operate, and some have attracted substantial support, including the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), the third largest party in Parliament.
Critics pointed to the formation of this broad coalition comprising parties at ideological odds with one another as a key reason for the government's perceived failure to create enough jobs, improve services, and educate the population. This in turn eroded the public's already low confidence in the political system. It also prompted public calls by the King, impatient with the government's slow-footedness in carrying out his vision for the country, for a "rationalization" of the political landscape and the formation of "strong coalitions" and "distinctive blocs" that compete with each other on the basis of specific development platforms. Starting with the 2007 parliamentary elections, these poles vied with each other for power, alternating control at the top, subject to the demands of Moroccan citizens, according to the royal vision.
The moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party [PJD] is almost exclusively an urban party: it has given voice to conservative and middle-class constituencies that are loath to undermine the monarchy, but demand more transparency and better services. The secular Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) is largely a rural party that performs best outside of Morocco’s big cities. In an environment characterized by the weak ideological mobilization of voters, patronage networks play a decisive role in determining the electoral outcome.
The new Parliament consisted of the 30 women who gained seats reserved for women on the National List, plus five who won seats in their local districts. The previous Parliament had two women in the lower chamber. Women occupied 85 out of 22,600 seats of local communal councils throughout the country. Several proposed parties were not allowed to form during the year. The JCO never has been granted legal status as a political party.
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