Civil groups report on Moroccan elections

18/09/2007

Moroccan non-governmental organisations issue their findings after observing the September 7th parliamentary elections.

By Naoufel Cherkaoui for Magharebia in Rabat – 18/09/2007

[Getty Images] President of the Human Rights Advisory Council Ahmed Herzenni said the recent legislative elections were fair despite several reported cases of corruption.

Moroccan non-governmental organisations have begun to issue reports outlining their observations of the country's legislative elections on September 7th. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) wrote in its report that the election laws currently in force contribute to a "dispersion of votes and the Balkanization of the political landscape; something that could undermine the parliament and the government emanating therefrom."

AMDH added that electoral rolls were only partially updated, and the association challenged the accuracy of the amended lists. The Human Rights Advisory Council, although officially charged with overseeing monitoring efforts, was criticised for obstructing the work of local observers, allegedly by using state-run media to inflate coverage of international observers.

The AMDH report also described cases of intervention by state agencies in support of certain candidates, the most notable example being "the contribution by authorities and members of the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication [HACA] to the campaign for the list headed by Minister Delegate to the Interior Ministry Fouad Ali El Himma."

More than 700 complaints filed with authorities remain unanswered. Many cite offences such as the use of money to purchase citizens' votes, general abuse of power, unauthorised use of public assets, and the use of religion and takfir to influence voters.

The Moroccan Centre for Human Rights (CMDH) questioned the use of election posters and advertisements in illegal places and the reported forging of elections office reports and delays in delivering them.

CMDH President Khalid Cherkaoui told Magharebia, "The elections were not held in a fair atmosphere overall. Moreover, the authorities turned a blind eye to a number of breaches at a time when it was supposed to mobilise the security forces to arrest those undermining the electoral process."

The Moroccan Democratic Civil Forum (FCDM) offered mixed feedback. The group credited the government with attempting to abide by earlier promises of neutrality, pursuing violators of electoral laws, and accepting the oversight of international observers. Nevertheless, their report said "observers recorded the State's lack of commitment to full neutrality. Some candidates who breached the law were pursued while others were not. This is in addition to the absence of accurate norms in the selection of voting office members."

The FCDM concluded that political parties showed limited capabilities in controlling their candidates, and that the top priority of most parties was to win the biggest number of seats in the parliament by any means.

The Network of Election Monitoring Organisations, a coalition of 350 associations across Morocco, reported several additional grievances: parties campaigning straight through election day, the inability of citizens to obtain voting cards, the fraudulent use of cards by people other than registered voters and incidents of coercion and influence.

Kamal Lahbib, member of the Network of Election Monitoring Organisations told Magharebia "the elections were characterised by the authorities' neutrality. However, we were hoping that such neutrality would seek to apply the law and to stop all violations." He added that the "low turnout shouldn't be ignored, as it requires in-depth consideration by all parties."

The government-supported Human Rights Advisory Council (CCDH) declared that the elections were conducted under normal conditions and were generally characterised by fairness, transparency, and administrative neutrality. The council did report certain criticisms, such as cases of corruption and the under-representation or absence of women in voting offices.