Moroccans cast their votes

07/09/2007

Despite a slow start to the voting day, many Moroccans are heading to the polls with hopes of securing new and more responsive leaders in the House of Representatives.

By Imane Belhaj for Magharebia in Casablanca – 07/09/2007

[Getty Images] A picture of Morocco's King Mohammed VI is seen through a ballot box at a polling station during legislative elections in the shanty town of Sidi Boumen near Casablanca, 07 September 2007.

Ballot offices opened at 8:00 AM Friday morning (September 7th), in cities and villages across Morocco for the election of members to the 325-member House of Representatives.

By noon, electoral offices reported having received more than 2 million ballots, out of 15.5 million registered voters, the Interior Ministry announced.

Abdul Rahman Ashour, a communications employee at the Interior Ministry said that according to initial reports received every two hours from the regions and districts that the opening of the ballot offices took place under normal conditions.

Registered voters can receive their electoral cards all day at their local electoral offices. The 38,687 electoral offices throughout the kingdom are expected to remain open until 7:00 PM, unless the Interior Ministry decides to extend voting later into the evening to allow more voters an opportunity to cast their ballot.

Despite low morning turnout at Casablanca's electoral offices, some office heads and co-ordinators considered the start to be encouraging. The process gained momentum after the noon prayers and is expected to see even more voters in the evening as citizens return home from work.

The head of the ballot office in the Anfa district confirmed that the process ran quietly and in an organised way, and that the voters were voting confidentially.

Mohammad Salem, a retired employee, said that he expected good things from this election. Since independence, he has put his trust in a party to improve social conditions in the country. The party, which he failed to name, "has let us down. That is why today I'm betting on new faces to take charge."

Mohammad Nouefal said that the elections are an opportunity to vote for a program with hopes of it being accomplished. He stressed that the current situation in Morocco requires the solidarity of all viable forces in society and not just the parties, so there may be a real change for the service of the country.

Hasan al-Wafi, a barber, he did not trouble himself to travel to his family residence in the city of Settat in order to cast his vote. "I don't think this election will produce anything new. Therefore, there is no need for me to leave my work that secures my daily bread to go to vote for some people that I don't even know," he said.

One citizen had been searching for his electoral card so he could fulfil what he called his "duty". He said: "This day is important for us as Moroccans because we really need responsible people who can serve this country. We hope they will be better than their predecessors."

An official co-ordinator explained that those who went into the electoral offices at 8:00 AM were of all ages and walks of life. Stressing that the process ran under very normal and organized conditions, he said he had even seen sick people take the trouble to head to the ballot boxes in order to vote on that day.

The Interior Minister said the provisional results, based on SMS messages from 22,000 people in electoral offices around the country will be announced on Saturday at 6:00pm, and the final results can be expected on Sunday.

A mission of international observers, accompanied by a delegation from the Advisory Council for Human Rights, is expected to issue a preliminary report on the progress of the electoral process Saturday evening, and a detailed report one week after the elections.