Moroccans mount new protests

Ahead of legislative elections, fresh demonstrations and political debates flare across Morocco.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 18/07/11

With parliamentary elections drawing near in Morocco, protests continue unabated in big cities. Thousands rallied on Sunday (July 17th) in Rabat, Casablanca and Tangier in support of and against the recent constitutional changes.

Moroccans overwhelmingly approved the reforms proposed by King Mohammed VI, with the turnout in the July 1st referendum reaching 73.4%. Early legislative elections are now scheduled for October 7th. Among politicians and activists, a major point of discussion is a voter turnout.

Socialist Party (PSU) Secretary-General Mohamed Moujahid predicted that the participation would be lower than in 2007 due to nationwide demonstrations held by the February 20 Movement. He also cast doubt over the referendum turnout.

"In the big cities, that percentage was no more than 20%," Moujahid claimed.

He called for a genuine dialogue about the real problems to prevent political activities from being pushed to the margins of society.

Speaking for the Justice and Development Party (PJD), Deputy Secretary-General Lahcen Daoudi stressed the need for continued vigilance. He insisted that the referendum had nothing to do with the political parties, who have yet to rekindle confidence in politics among the public.

The voter participation will be around 40%, Daoudi predicted. The state needs to clear the atmosphere and the electoral lists and send out a signal to voters that they can have confidence, he said. For their part, political parties need to adopt a new strategy which does not involve co-opting just anyone in elections.

MP Abdellatif Oummou, of the Party for Progress and Socialism (PPS), voiced his optimism, stressing the need to implement a whole raft of measures before a positive turnout can be seen.

Following the results of the referendum, he said, it is clear that the process of reconciliation between Moroccans and politics has begun, but it will take time.

Will this trend continue? It depends on a number of things, including the capacity of the political parties to adapt to the new age in terms of alliances and fair competition, Oummou said.

"All of this needs to be supported by state measures relating to political life, particularly the release of political prisoners, a clean-up of electoral lists, the observation of elections, the elimination of electoral fraud, and the introduction of strong, credible institutions," he added.

The aim is to empower the Moroccan people, giving them all they need to play a full role as citizens, Oummou concluded.

Political commentator Najib Aarfi struck a similar chord. If people want to see a higher turnout in the legislative elections, then political organizations need to present an offer which is acceptable to voters, and particularly young people, who have demonstrated their awareness of what goes on in the world of politics, he commented.

"If the public feel there has been a change within the parties and the authorities, it is highly likely that the turnout will be acceptable," Aarfi said.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/07/18/feature-03.