Moroccan Party Politics After the Election
Event Featuring:
Overview
On February 19th, 2003, Scott Mastic of the International Republican Institute (IRI) along with Les Campbell of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) led lively discussion at MEI during which they described Morocco's September 2002 parliamentary elections as a successful implementation of the "List System." This was in part responsible for record seats going to women parliamentarians as well as members of Islamist-oriented Justice & Development Party (PJD) tripled its seats in Parliament.
Event Summary
Les Campbell of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) called attention to the appointment of a technocrat as Prime Minister. This change was initially criticized because the Moroccan king has traditionally appointed a representative of the majority party, but criticism of the current prime minister's appointment by King Mohammed VI has already abated.
Campbell noted that the "List System" introduced in the 2002 elections, which allots proportional representation by party over individual candidates, has shifted emphasis to qualified persons and away from personality loyalty. New winners were women and the PJD.
Campbell sees the rise of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) as a positive instrument of change within Morocco's party system for its help in raising the standards of parliamentary debate. The PJD is known for its strong, grass-roots organization and its focus on mass-appeal "bread-and-butter" issues. PJD tripled its representation in Parliament with these elections, from 9 to 38 seats, to become the leading opposition party. Women also gained in this election, to 35 from 2 seats previously; however, women already appear as divided in politics as men, except, for the majority of them, on issues such as Family Law and Women's Rights. Campbell hopes the PJD's rise acts as a "wake-up call" to mainstream parties that have lost credibility over the years and as an impetus for new leadership and democratization within those parties.
While agreeing that the PJD's rise reflects a lack of effectiveness among mainstream parties, Scott Mastic of the International Republican Institute (IRI), believes the chance of reform within these parties is slim. Still, while Islamist parties are traditionally seen as a threat to the monarchy and to modernization, Mastic noted that the upholding of the 2002 election results attests to a commitment from the new monarch to fairness and transparency. Mastic observed that the government has been aggressively enforcing rules to end voting corruption and vote-buying and even succeeded in registering 1.4 million new voters. Despite this sincere effort for participatory politics, voter turnout remained at near the 50% average common throughout North Africa, as Dr. William Zartman of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies confirmed.
Both experts called attention to further use of the List System in high-density areas during the upcoming communal elections.
About this Event
Speaker Details
Scott Mastic is Program Officer for the Middle East & North Africa at the International Republican Institute (IRI). Les Campbell is Regional Director for the Middle East & North Africa at the National Democratic Institute (NDI). The moderator, Dr. I. William Zartman, is a member of the MEI Board of Governors and the Jacob Blaustein Professor of International Organizations and Conflict Resolution as well as Director of the Conflict Management Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Attributions
Alison Lawlor, MA candidate at American University, prepared this summary; the Middle East Institute's programs director, David Chambers, and assistant editor of the Middle East Journal, Talal Belrhiti, were editors.
