Moroccans approve new constitution

From public enthusiasm to renewed protests, a landslide vote in favor of Morocco's new constitution drew varied reactions.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 04/07/11

After days of heated debates, Morocco now has a new constitution. More than 98% of voters said "yes" to the reforms proposed by King Mohammed VI. The turnout rate for the July 1st poll reached 73.46%, Interior Minister Taieb Cherkaoui said on Saturday (July 2nd).

The final results will be published by the constitutional council, Cherkaoui added. The announcement is set for July 8th.

"The Moroccan people have taught us a brilliant lesson; they have realized the importance of the historic moment through which we are living and have turned a deaf ear to the voices rising up from the depths of nihilism," Communication Minister Khalid Naciri told the press.

But the constitution must be backed up by organic laws and a serious determination to translate the proposed advances into real actions, Popular Movement General-Secretary Mohand Laenser told Magharebia

"Every organization must be conscious of the huge challenges of the new pact," Forum for Citizenship chief Abdelali Mastour said.

Abdelhamid Amine, Vice President of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) and co-ordinator of the national support council for the February 20 Movement, is unmoved by the referendum results. "We were expecting figures like these to be put about," he said.

"We’ll continue our action," he added. "We boycotted the referendum because we didn’t want to take part in this charade. This new constitution puts all the power in the king’s hands."

In Casablanca, Tangier and Rabat, fresh protests broke out on Sunday. Demonstrators chanted, "Empty, empty, the ballot boxes were empty!"

"No-one I know voted. I’d find it hard to believe the turnout could have been more than 70%," said Hmida Lakssiri, employed. "In addition, you can’t base the figures only on those people who show up on the electoral lists, who are just 13 million, when there are millions more who don’t appear on the lists."

Political analyst Mohamed Darif, however, described the results as "perfectly reasonable" and indicative of the strength of political forces in Morocco. Only three political parties and one trade union called for a boycott, he said.

Furthermore, given that Moroccan society is not politically savvy, those voicing their opposition have not managed to have any impact on the public, Darif said.

For student Saidi Rehouni, the most important thing is not the figures that have been released, but rather the implementation of the constitution.

"It won’t harm us to wait," he said. "Let’s hope people will change their attitudes, and we’ll really end up with a Morocco of fairness, rights and liberties."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/07/04/feature-01.