ELECTORAL CODE AMENDMENT PASSED

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 002237

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG, NEA/PI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM MO
SUBJECT: ELECTORAL CODE AMENDMENT PASSED

REF: RABAT 02176

Classified By: PolCouns Craig Karp. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: After months of debate between the Ministry
of Interior and the political parties, the amendments to the
new electoral code have been adopted by Parliament. The new
law bars parties that failed to win at least 3% of the vote
in the 2002 elections from running in the 2007 elections.
The bill maintains the current proportional representation
system, but increases the percentage of votes a party must
obtain to enter parliament from 3 to 6 percent. The millions
of Moroccans living abroad will also be allowed to vote in
the legislative elections. The amendments are seen as part
of a palace strategy to encourage/force the small parties to
merge into larger blocs, in part to create counterweight to
the growing vote of the Islamist PJD. The number of parties
on the ballot, which can be counted in the dozens, will
shrink dramatically, to around 10 or fewer. Understandably,
small parties have heavily protested the changes, echoed less
forcefully by the PJD, which may hope to pick up some protest
votes. Their protests will likely not halt implementation of
the amendments, however. End Summary.


2. (U) Both houses of Parliament have now passed eleven
amendments to the existing electoral code. Chakib Benmoussa,
Minister of the Interior, told the Commission of the Interior
and Decentralization on December 5 that the government of
Morocco (GOM) believed reducing the number of electoral
parties from over 20 to about a dozen would improve democracy
and efficiency. In addition, for the elections, he said the
GOM would adopt a stance of "positive neutrality" and place
special emphasis on fighting corruption.


3. (U) The amendments require:

--A candidate must be a member of a political party to
participate in the elections.

--Political parties to have had 3 percent of the national
vote in 2002 in order to field candidates for the lower house
in 2007. If parties did not have 3 percent of the vote, then
they may have locally-listed candidates only if they have 100
signatures on a petition. For nationally-listed candidates,
the petition must have 1,000 signatures from eight of the
sixteen regions. Small political parties have objected to
this amendment (reftel). There are approximately 44 parties,
more than 20 of them formerly electorally qualified; some
estimate that three-quarters of the parties will not be able
to field candidates in the election.

--A political party to have 6 percent of the total vote in
order to be represented in parliament, that is have a seat.

--All voter lists to be reviewed in detail.

--Expatriate Moroccans will be able to vote in the elections,
and they will be able to review voter lists at embassies and
consulates.


4. (C) Comment: After passing Parliament, the amendments
must now go to the Council of Ministers before the King would
sign into law. As this is a Palace-inspired measure,
significant additional changes are not expected. We assess
that the provision for getting on the ballot by petition
would likely provide sufficient mechanism for the inclusion
of new or significant political forces. The small parties,
many of which live off government subventions, will be hurt,
but overall this change is likely to result in more, rather
than less, political modernization and reform. End Comment.
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Riley