Moroccans go to the polls to elect their deputies and local elected officials

Published on : 09/08/2021 – 10:33

Moroccans began voting on the morning of Wednesday, September 8 for general elections that should determine the future of the Islamist PJD party, in power for a decade.

Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local (7 a.m. GMT) and will close at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. GMT). The first estimates are expected in the evening.

“Everyone to the polls!” Calls the daily L’Économiste, for whom the turnout is the “real issue in today’s polls”. Participation had capped at 43% during the 2016 legislative elections.

The approximately 18 million voters will elect the 395 deputies of the Chamber of Representatives and more than 31,000 municipal and regional elected representatives. This is the first time since the first elections in Morocco were held in 1960 that the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives will be calculated on the basis of the number of registered voters and not of voters. This new method of calculation should handicap the large parties, to the benefit of small groups.

In Morocco, the head of government is from the party that came first in this legislative election. He is appointed by King Mohammed VI and responsible for forming his executive for a five-year term. But in this kingdom of 36 million inhabitants, the decisions and the main orientations of the strategic sectors remain the prerogative of the monarch.

The ruling Justice Party says it is “aggrieved” by the new method of calculating elections

Long confined to the opposition, the Justice and Development Party (PJD, moderate Islamist), led by outgoing Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani, hopes to run for a third consecutive term as head of government.

The PJD had achieved historic electoral success after protests by the “February 20 Movement” – the Moroccan version of the Arab Spring of 2011 – which called for an end to “corruption and despotism”.

For two weeks, the electoral campaign, marked by the absence of major political meetings due to the pandemic, was for a long time sluggish before giving rise in recent days to a sharp confrontation between the PJD and its liberal rival of the National Rally of Independents. (RNI), two of the favorites of the poll.

The PJD strongly opposed the new method of calculating these elections, considering itself “aggrieved”. Because if it achieves the same score as in 2016, the PJD will obtain this time, according to estimates, only 80 to 85 seats, against 125 at the time. This would complicate its task of forming a new government coalition in the event of victory.

A campaign marred by accusation of buying votes

The former head of government and former secretary general of the PJD Abdelilah Benkirane, still influential, came out of his reserve to attack Aziz Akhannouch, head of the RNI and wealthy businessman, in a video posted on Facebook. “The presidency of the government needs a politician with integrity around whom there is no suspicion,” said Abdelilah Benkirane.

Minister of Agriculture since 2007, Aziz Akhannouch retorted Monday, in a local media, that the criticisms of the Islamists were “an admission of failure” and “only aim to sow discord”. The latter, at the head of one of the largest fortunes in the country and described as close to the Royal Palace, played a key role in the formation of the previous government, controlling portfolios such as the economy and finance or industry. .

In the absence of opinion polls, local media predictions also point to the chances of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM, liberal) and the Istiqlal Party (center-right), both in opposition.

The campaign, which ended at midnight on Tuesday, was marred by accusations of vote buying. If the PJD denounced the “massive” use of money, without naming any party, the number 1 of the PAM, Abdellatif Ouahbi, accused the RNI by name. Charges “categorically rejected” by the party incriminated.

On the other hand, the long conflicting relations between the PAM, the first opposition party, and the Islamists, have recently calmed down.

With AFP