Election campaign hits the Sahara

2007-09-04

Seemingly unaffected by the conflict in the Sahara, front-running candidates in the Western Sahara are pulling out all the stops campaigning for the Moroccan elections in a highly-charged competitive atmosphere.

By Imrane Binoual for Magharebia in Casablanca – 04/09/2007

[Imrane Binoual] USFP supporters demonstrate in Laâyoune.

Morocco's political parties have begun campaigning in the Western Sahara, making speeches in Laâyoune's Place Oum Saad, Place de l’Allegeance and other public areas in the lead-up to legislative elections on September 7th. Folk groups performing modern music, traditional Hassani songs and "shikhat" hits have livened up the evenings.

Candidates have resorted to a wide range of methods to win votes, including camel shows and parades featuring dozens of 4x4 vehicles. The events have drawn thousands to the Saharan capital's squares each evening and the buzz of activity has reached such a pitch that few residents could predict to Magharebia which candidates will walk away with the most votes on election day.

Candidates from four major parties lead the competition for the Saharan vote: the People's Movement (supported mainly by farmers and the Amazigh community), the Party for Justice and Development (Islamist), the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (socialist) and the Istiqlal Party (conservative, formed before Morocco achieved independence). In all, fifteen sets of candidates will fight it out for Laâyoune's three seats.

The election campaign appears to proceed much the same way in Laâyoune as in other regions of the country. According to local resident Fadil Ouald Dadah, however, "the campaign in this region is different because of the key role played by tribal affiliations, which are more important than the election programme offered by each list of candidates. That’s why we are seeing a parallel campaign being run by the shoukhs (tribal leaders) and other influential leaders in these groups."

Abdelamajid Belghazal, a left-wing politician, said that "parties tend to put candidates from different tribes on their lists. The candidates have put aside the differences of old that pitted tribes against each other to focus on the elections… The candidates from some of the parties, particularly the richer ones, have shown a high level of professionalism and made large-scale use of logistical resources."

He believes the terms for the campaign are favourable since they "have allayed fears that we would see the creation of pro-Polisario (RASD) cells, which were announced four months ago and would have changed the campaigning process". Even a letter by Polisario leader Abdelaziz Marrakchi, sent to the UN Secretary-General a week before the campaign had no effect, according to Belghazal. "During the first few days of the campaign only a handful of small leaflets were given out by young people calling for a boycott of the election," he told Magharebia.

Female participation in the campaigns has been significant. "Female academics, poets and many other women are running. Several parties have decided to put Saharan women on their national lists," said Sami Reddad, adding that "the four printing houses in Laâyoune are producing over a million leaflets and posters a day for campaigners in the city. Car rental agencies have had to hire cars from other cities to meet demand from political parties seeking to acquire all the logistical resources they need for their campaigns."