A guide to September 7th: Morocco's election procedures

05/09/2007

Magharebia provides a guide to Morocco's election basics, from voter registration and casting one's ballot to counting the votes and resolving disputes.

By Mawassi Lahcen for Magharebia in Casablanca – 05/09/2007

[elections-maroc.com] More than 15 million Moroccans are eligible to vote on September 7th

Morocco's elections rules and procedures will play an important role in determining the effectiveness, transparency and legitimacy of the September 7th vote. Magharebia describes the electoral process.

Registering to vote

In order to participate in the September 7th elections, voters must have registered – between April 5th and May 4th – and must have a voter card. All citizens over age 18 may apply for voter registration, either in the district where they live or where they were born. To register, one must complete a registration application and present a national ID or other form of photo identification.

Electoral eligibility is limited to upstanding Moroccan citizens. Those holding military positions, sentenced to an active or suspended prison sentence or citizens naturalized in the past five years are ineligible to vote. Those who have been legally stripped of their national rights or those who have been judicially sequestered are also prohibited from voting, for a period specified by the court.

A specialised administrative committee reviews the electoral rolls once annually to remove ineligible persons and to allow those eligible to register. Morocco's most recent electoral roll review was carried out in April and May, yielding a count of 15.51 million registered voters, an increase of 11.74% over the figure for the 2002 legislative elections.

Public and non-governmental groups have conducted an outreach campaign to urge registered citizens to obtain their election cards in order to take part in the September 7th vote. The informational campaign is ongoing, in an effort to encourage high turnout.

At the polls

Voting takes place in voting offices. 48 hours prior to the election, the governor of each electoral district in his jurisdiction appoints the president of the voting office and three assistants to help the president with his or her task. The voting office president receives the electoral rolls for his or her office, the list of candidates registered in the office's electoral district, materials for recording the electoral process and the actual ballots. If one or both of the assistants appointed by the governor is missing, the president appoints his assistants from the voters present on Election Day by selecting the oldest and youngest among them. The youngest assistant is appointed secretary of the voting office and the oldest member keeps the keys to the ballot boxes.

The president of the voting office is required to oversee and maintain order inside the voting office and to resolve all issues that arise during the voting process. His decisions are recorded in the electoral operations minutes. Each candidate in the electoral district appoints a representative to monitor the election process and to note violations and transgressions that might impede them. The candidate must report the name of his representative 24 hours before the start of voting and must receive a written confirmation of his decision. The candidate’s representative presents himself to the voting office president and receives a voucher of the latter’s acceptance of his inclusion among the observers of the process at his office.

The voting process commences at 8 am on the specified day and continues until 7 pm. Upon entering the voting office, voters must pledge not to disclose their vote. They are not permitted to initiate arguments or debates of any kind inside the voting hall. Upon entering the voting hall, each voter presents his or her voter card and official photo identification card to the secretary. In the event a voter loses his election card, he may cast a ballot if two voters testify to the veracity of his identity. Cases such as these are indicated in the electoral operations minutes.

Once a voter's identity has been confirmed, the secretary announces the voter’s full name and place in line in an audible voice, and then directs him to an isolated booth, where he indicates his chosen candidate in complete secrecy.

The ballot contains the symbols of the local and national candidates in that district. Voters must make one mark on the symbol of their chosen party or candidate on the local list and they must make a second mark on the symbol of their chosen party or candidate on the national women’s list.

The voter places the ballot in an envelope and deposits it in the ballot box. Before the voter exits the hall, the president stamps his hand with a mark in indelible ink.

Counting the ballots

Once voting has concluded, the voting office members open the ballot boxes. When the number of voters exceeds 200, both the president of the voting office and candidates running the district may solicit help in sorting and counting the ballots from the voters present. Each candidate reports the names of his chosen examiners to the office president an hour before voting finishes.

The president distributes the examiners with four at each table. Upon opening the boxes, the examiners determine the number of ballots and compare it to the number of electors who cast votes. Any discrepancy between the two numbers is recorded in the minutes. Next an examiner at each table opens each ballot one by one and gives it to another examiner, who reads aloud the name of the candidate whose name is marked. At least two other examiners record the votes each candidate received on the vote count papers.

If the ballot contains multiple vote marks, it is considered void. Likewise, ballots which contain identifying writing or marks that could compromise the secrecy of the voting, and ballots that do not contain the stamp of the local administrative authority are also invalid. All voided ballots are set aside and placed in a special envelope, which is sealed by the office president and attached to the minutes. The president also seals any contested ballots in an envelope and attaches them to the minutes. After being counted, the sound ballots are burned in view of the voters present.

Upon conclusion of sorting and counting, the office president announces his office's results. Three copies of the electoral operations minutes, authorised by the president of the voting office and his assistants, are released immediately. Each of the candidate's representatives receives a copy of the minutes once the results have been tabulated, authorised and signed by the president and the voting office members. The candidates’ representatives have the right to add any additional observations that might pertain to the course of the voting and sorting operations to the official minutes.

Specialised committees tabulate the votes on a regional and central level and the Interior Minister announces the final results. Afterwards, aggrieved candidates have 15 days in which to submit a written appeal to the Constitutional Council, the body with authority to decide on the conformity of laws to the Constitution. The petition will be open to inspection to the parties involved and each side has 8 days to lodge their written comments in official records. Afterwards, the Constitutional Council has up to 60 days to review the materials and make a final decision as to the validity of the election or candidate's victory.