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2008 Assessment

Morocco: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Morocco : Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	Is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	0
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	0
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	63

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments: Moroccan law does not provide for an agency to monitor elections. It also does not speak of national and foreign observers. It allows, however, for the presence of representatives of parties and candidates at every level of voting, counting and census results.

References: The reports of the national observers of the parliamentary elections from 2005, edited by several organs as: The Collectif Associatif (more than 600 associations) Report on Elections of September 2007- Mars 2008. CMDH (Moroccan Centre of Human Rights) Report on Elections of September 2007. September 2007 OMDH (Moroccan Organization of Human Rights) Report on Elections of September 2007. September 2007 TM & DRI (Transparency Morocco & Democracy Reporting International) 1/Assessment of the Electoral Framework of Morocco, January 2007; 2/ Qualitative assessment of the election to the House of Representatives, Sept. 7, 2007 FCDM (Moroccan Democratic and Civil Forum) & CERSS (Social Sciences Studies and Research Center). Report on Elections of September 2007. September 2007 NDI (National Democratic Institute) Final report on the Moroccan parliamentary elections, Sept.7, 2007

Dahir No. 1-06-18, Feb. 14, 2006, on the promulgation of Law No. 36-04 on political parties. Decree No. 2-06-176 of April 21, 2006, on the State annual support grants for political parties and unions of political parties. BO (Official Gazette) No. 5400 of March 2, 2006. Law n° 23 - 06 promulgated by Dahir No. 1.07.07 from March 23, 2007 amending and supplementing the law ° 9-97 on the Electoral Code. Mohamed MADANI: The Political Landscape of Morocco. Dar Al Qalam, Rabat 2006 Omar Bendourou: Human Rights and The Basic Liberties, 2007 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Peer Review Comments: There is no law regarding the observation of elections, but during the two last parliamentary elections, a consortium of CVOs, working with the public organization Advisory Council on Human Rights (CCDH) had organized an observation process.

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Peer Review Comments: Following the last two parliamentary elections, a consortium of a public agency and some CSOs presented a report regarding the observation of elections.

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments: In practice, the use of old lists permits several shortcomings and mistakes; among these mistakes are: -the similar names in the voter registration tables, -repeated names in the same records, -names of people who died, - names of people live who in another governorate, -one person may obtains more than one electoral card

The cases are numerous, one can found details in the observation reports, but we can cite a few examples for illustration.

1/ In its first report observing elections in September 2007, CMDH records 127 violations: -11 interventions during the operation vote -7 cases of non-distribution of voting cards -1 case prohibiting a citizen to vote.

2/ The OMDH report describes elections in two districts (Casablanca Ain Sebaa and Tiflet Rommani ).

At the Tiflet Rommani chapter, it said: Destruction of voter cards (page 8), Discount cards to "close" instead of handing them over to concerned (page 9) No publication of voter lists in all municipalities (page 8),

In the district of Casablanca Ain Sebaa, the report said: The difficulty of finding the appropriate polling point for voters who could not withdraw their cards. At the level of Morocco it was stated that 25 percent of the voters have not withdrawn their voting cards. (page 12)

3/ The report of the Moroccan Democratic Civil Forum also notes: No appointment of a withdrawal of voter cards (page 7) Bewilderment of voters seeking their cards on the voting day (page 7) Existence of several names of deceased voters on the electoral roll (page 8), No names on voter registers and computers (page 8),

4/ In the town of Oujda Distribution of voting cards by the Mokaddem (authority agent responsible for one or more neighborhoods, acting for the Ministry of the Interior. These agents have a long tradition of influence by threats of administrative reprisals). (Case No. 49) Refusal to issue cards to voters without commitment to vote for a candidate (Case No. 50) Discount cards for voters to candidates (Case No. 117)

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments:

Mohamed MADANI: The Political Landscape of Morocco. Dar Al Qalam, Rabat 2006 Omar Bendourou: Human Rights And The Basic Liberties, 2007 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

Electoral law: Law No. 9-97 on the Electoral Code as it was amended and supplemented until March 23, 2007

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: The process is slow, to the point of being ineffective when the verdict is given at the end of the mandate. Another phenomenon that is not well studied and that evokes Professor Mohamed MADANI is the use of justice as another battlefield of the duel of notables.

Mohamed MADANI: The Political Landscape of Morocco. Dar Al Qalam, Rabat 2006 Omar Bendourou: Human Rights And The Basic Liberties, 2007 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments: Officials of the Ministry of Interior who support certain candidates interfere with other candidates or do not intervene to enforce the law. However, during the 2007 elections many observers noted the neutrality of the state apparatus for the first time. Nevertheless, most of them stressed that it is a "negative neutrality" that lets fraudsters. You can call it "privatization" of the handling of ballots.

Mohamed MADANI: The Political Landscape of Morocco. Dar Al Qalam, Rabat 2006 Omar Bendourou: Human Rights And The Basic Liberties, 2007 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments: For the first time national and international observers were allowed to observe the elections in 2007, but there is still no law regulating the conduct of election observation.

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments: For the first time national and international observers were allowed to observe the elections in 2007, but there is still no law regulating the conduct of the election observation. It should be noted that the observers received accreditation only a day before the elections. The multiplicity of office positions up for election and the vastness of constituencies limit the presence of observers. Parties and candidates, even in coalitions, fail to cover a satisfactory percentage of offices votes. As for independent observers, they have often resorted to samples, mostly cases in accessible areas.

Mohamed MADANI: The Political Landscape of Morocco. Dar Al Qalam, Rabat 2006 Omar Bendourou: Human Rights And The Basic Liberties, 2007 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung