King Mohammed wants elections held in normal constitutional, legal time
Morocco, Politics, 7/31/2001

Morocco's King Mohammed VI stressed in a speech aired this Monday on the Moroccan radio and TV that consolidation of political stability and of institutional continuity requires the holding of elections in normal constitutional and legal time.

The sovereign said in the Throne Day speech that both the polling and various stages in the electoral process have to take place in due time, particularly the electoral campaign which should only start on the date stipulated by the law.

The elections are initially scheduled to take place in the fall of 2002.

King Mohammed VI also drew the attention to the need to conduct clean electoral campaigns. "In our capacity as warrant of the supreme interests of the nation and of citizens, we draw the attention to the need to avoid leading the country in a simplistic electoral campaign. We also want to stress that electoral campaigns at a well-defined legal time should not be confused with an electioneering and politician campaign that sows confusion, poisons the political atmosphere and diverts citizens from the country's real problems by focusing their attention on overbidding and secondary problems. Most of Morocco's present problems are, indeed, partly due to electoral frenzy," the king said.

He also urged the political class to use the period ahead of elections for national mobilization and fair competition in preparing concrete and realistic programs that evolve around a hardcore of effective priorities. He stressed the need for the political class to focus on wealth-generating programs and to mobilize means needed to materialize our society project.

The sovereign went on that elections are not an end in themselves, but are rather a democratic means that allows the emergence of an elite of statesmen and a homogenous majority stemming from competitive and honest elections, which express, in total transparency and sincerity, the choice of the electors and of the public opinion and reflect the reality of the Moroccan political landscape.

For the sovereign, it is the responsibility of the government and public authorities to propose and enforce legislative and regulating measures likely to guarantee the administration's respect of the polls inviolability, under the watchful, efficient and independent control of justice. He went on that actors of the electoral process - individuals, political parties, trade unions and professional associations- also have to show values associated with citizenship conduct. "Finally what we lack is not democratic legal texts but total adherence to democracy which should be adopted as a culture and conduct."

King Mohammed VI recalled that he gave instructions to the government to sketch out draft laws that would distinguish political parties from associations and ensure that these parties work in rationality, democracy and transparency. He further cautioned against a proliferation of political parties, because, the sovereign argued, a society's democratization degree is not measured up according to the number of its political parties, but according to the consistence and quality of these parties and to their capacity to supervise citizens on the ground and express their aspirations.

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