Morocco lowers voting age to 18
Morocco, Politics, 12/11/2002

Morocco on Tuesday decided to lower the voting age to 18 instead of 20 in force until now in the country.

The decision was announced by King Mohammed VI in a speech he made at the appointment of the Diwane Al-Madalim (Ombudsman) and the Human Rights Consultative Council.

"In order to fulfil our aspiration to see the Moroccan youth massively contribute to the achievement of our project to build a democratic and modernist society, We have decided to reduce the voting age to 18," said King Mohammed VI

The king, who made the announcement on the occasion of the World Human Rights Day marked on December 10th, invited the government to take the necessary measures to enforce the decision.

King Mohammed VI voiced confidence that the Moroccan youth will assume their mission with idealism and enthusiasm. The Moroccan youth, he added, will give a strong impetus to responsible citizenship and will inject a new blood to the democratic practice.

Touching on Morocco's human rights achievements, the king said "while we value the major progress made by Morocco, over the last decade, and acknowledged nationally and internationally, we should not lose sight of the fact that democracy is an ongoing struggle and that the protection of human rights is a continuous, never-ending process." He underlined in this connection the need to carry on efforts. ""It is (É) necessary for us to work just as hard to finish the job as we did when we started it," he said. "What has been accomplished is an outstanding achievement which has laid the groundwork for a unique Moroccan experience in the field of human rights," said King Mohammed VI, noting "this can be clearly seen from the approach that has been adopted to settle the issue of political prisoners and exiles, and also from the preventive measures which have been taken to ward off any human rights abuse in the future." "In addition, human rights are now taught as part of education and vocational training curricula," he said.

The king equally stressed that "Morocco's experience has become a model in how to deal with human rights issues, along with their most sensitive, arduous, and complex aspects, and in how to get the thorny problems related to these issues settled fairly, equitably and lawfully."

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