Observation of the Communal Elections of June 12, 2009

According to the preamble of the Constitution which confirms Morocco’s commitment to human rights as universally recognized, and bearing in mind the role of monitoring and promotion of the democratic culture, the Advisory Council on Human Rights (CCDH), as a national institution, will take part in the observation of the communal elections, due on June, 2009, to enhance democratic transition in Morocco.

The impartial observation of the elections is nowadays one of the decisive mechanisms that ensure free and fair elections. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates that everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Article 21 provides for that “the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures”.

Besides, the Moroccan constitution specifies that “aware of the need of incorporating its work within the frame of the international organizations of which it has become an active and dynamic member, the Kingdom of Morocco fully adheres to the principles, rights and obligations arising from the charters of such organizations, as it reaffirms its determination to abide by the universally recognized human rights”.

General Goal

This process aims to observe elections within a framework of fairness, democracy and free choice, in accordance with international standards and the preamble of the Moroccan Constitution.

Specific Goals

- To analyze the legal framework by putting emphasis on new components (Communal Charter, Elections Code, application text, districting);

- To observe the different phases of the election process in 28 provinces in addition to Marrakech;

- To analyze the results of the observation and to draw up a report on the course of the electoral process;

- To formulate conclusions and recommendations.

Communes where the CCDH ensures direct observation

Here are the standards taken into account in choosing these communes:

General Standards

- The geographical scope where elections are observed is under the jurisdiction of CCDH regional sections, except the city of Marrakech;

- Administrative and demographic considerations, the cities of the provinces are chosen automatically in the samples;

- The following variables are adopted:

1- The nature of the commune (urban, rural, urban communes subject to the district system);

2- The voting system (first past the post, list), a special attention is also paid to the duality of the mode of voting in the communes where first past the post system is applied (duality is due to the complementary list);

3- The gender-based analysis will be used in a crosscutting manner in all phases of the electoral process.

Specific Standards

In addition to the general standards, other specific standards are taken into account. Each standard has a specific aim to assess the validity of certain assumptions related to access to civil and political rights and implementation of new electoral code. Thus, the following elements are taken into account:

- Nomadic communes in order to assess the impact of the new assumptions relating to registration in electoral lists in these communes;

- Communes with highest poverty rates in three provinces, in order to analyze the phenomenon/principle of interdependence of political, economic and social rights;

- Communes with experiences of participatory planning;

- Communes with significant rates of abstention in recent elections, to analyze the evolution of electoral behavior;

- Communes characterized by cultural diversity to assess the impact of this element on the practice of the various aspects of electoral right (registration, nomination, voting...);

- Communes characterized by specific economic activities involving high mobility of the workforce (fishing villages, internal migration). This specific standard is used to assess the impact of this situation on the exercise of electoral rights by the people involved in these activities;

- Communes which are not easy to have access to, in order to assess the impact of this data on the exercise of the right to vote;

- Communes with high rates of election conflicts.

Observers

The following standards are adopted to choose observers:

- Having an experience in election observation;

- Honesty and objectivity;

- High training and good knowledge on the communes concerned and election challenges;

- Having free time during the period of observation.

119 observers are selected. Observers received a training to enhance their capacities in the field.