U.S. joins Morocco medical exercise
FTA negotiations with Morocco expected to be over by end of 2003, Zoellick
BP wins Morocco solar power contract.
Killing of Two Moroccan Jews Strongly Condemned by Political Parties and Jewish Community
Morocco, US group to set up facility to finance small, medium enterprises
H.M King Mohammed VI Launches New School Year
Number of Moroccan high schools pupils up by 8.72%
Teaching of Berber Language To Be Generalized by 2008
Women 'Untapped Resource' in Middle East and North Africa, says Report
EU lauds modernization and openness drive in Morocco
Three persons arrested in Fes for abortion attempt
Cloete and El Guerrouj are Athletes of the Year
Morocco to accelerate audiovisual sector reform
Marrakesh film festival eyes Cannes, Venice level
Moroccan writer and Bosnian professor win UNESCO Sharjah prize for Arab culture
Morocco to host IT expo
Local polls: under-44 make nearly half of elected councilors
Local Elections: Over 120 Women Elected
Morocco local poll results show Islamists sidelined
Nationalist party wins most seats in Morocco's election
Status quo maintained in Morocco after local elections
Islamists sidelined in Morocco local poll
Morocco: Results of the Communal Elections

U.S. joins Morocco medical exercise

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

ER RACHIDIA, Morocco (CNN) -- U.S. military troops are conducting joint medical training with Moroccan troops in the largest-ever exercise of its kind between the two nations. The training, which does not involve live fire, comes four months after radical Islamic suicide bombers killed 33 people in Casablanca. Instead, it consists of hospital surgeries and medical and dental care for residents of villages located hundreds of miles east of Casablanca.

U.S. and Moroccan medical troops have treated more than 3,800 Moroccans since the exercise started on September 6, U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Corey Barker told CNN. The mission runs until September 20. The exercise, dubbed Medflag 2003, was planned long before the May 16 Casablanca bombings, when a dozen suicide bombers killed 33 people in a series of coordinated attacks in Morocco's largest city. The bombers were also killed.

The attack sent a shudder through the country, which is considered a moderate Muslim state. Since then, Moroccan police are reported to have arrested 900 people on suspicion of ties to Islamic terrorists. Last week, a Moroccan court sentenced 27 people to jail for their roles in the Casablanca bombings.

The joint medical training -- which rotates annually among African nations-- this year involves about 100 troops from the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army, along with about 100 Moroccan medical troops. "Medflag 2003 reinforces the United States' commitment to cooperation, stability and inter-operability in the region," a U.S. Navy statement said. The U.S. troops have worked with Moroccan doctors at a hospital in Er Rachidia, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Casablanca, to perform 196 surgeries. The U.S. and Moroccan medical troops have also dispensed medical, dental and vision care to various villages located 65 km to 120 km from Er Rachidia, Barker said.

The U.S. military is distributing $2.5 million in medical supplies during the exercise. Much of it was left over from the field hospital at U.S. Naval Station Rota in southern Spain, which treated 2,700 U.S. troops, mainly from the war in Iraq but also from Afghanistan, said Barker, who is based at Rota. The Rota station, a Spanish naval base where about 3,000 U.S. troops are stationed, was the staging ground for this year's Medflag operation.

Previous Medflag exercises sent U.S. medical troops to Uganda in 2002, Mozambique in 2001 and Tanzania in 2000, Barker said. Aside from troops based at Rota, other U.S. troops participating in the exercise have come from the U.S. naval medical centers in Bethesda, Md., and San Diego, Calif.; the Ohio National Guard, the U.S. Naval Dental Center in Naples, Italy and the U.S. Army medical company at Landstuhl, Germany, Barker said. The exercise also will involve a disaster response drill with mock mass casualties, scheduled for Thursday. "This is to allow the Moroccans to get used to working with us, and for us to get used to working with them, in case of major disasters," Barker said.

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FTA negotiations with Morocco expected to be over by end of 2003, Zoellick
Economics, 9/15/2003

Moroccan-US negotiations over the Free Trade Agreement are expected to be over before the end of 2003, said the US Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Zoellick, in a fact sheet issued on the occasion of the World Trade Organization talks in Cancun, Mexico. The document underlines the importance of the FTA that will open new perspectives to the consolidation of economic and trade relations between the two countries.

The FTA will be the capstone of US-Moroccan efforts, complementing the existing Bilateral Investment Treaty, the bilateral agreement "Open Skies," and Trade and Investment Framework Agreements, says the fact sheet, adding that the agreement will increase exchanges between Morocco and the USA given the important opportunities it will offer in the sectors of energy, tourism and environment.

The agreement, the USTR went on, will contribute to the liberalization of services, the consolidation of investment and the promotion of the protection of intellectual property rights, labor and environment,.

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BP wins Morocco solar power contract.
2003-09-16

LONDON (AFX) - BP PLC unit Apex-BP Solar said it has been awarded a deal in partnership with Cie Marocaine des Hydrocarbures to supply and instal solar power systems to provide electricity to homes in Morocco's Chichaoua Province. The project will benefit 20,000 people who will gain access to lighting, radio, television and refrigerators via a local solar energy distribution network. The contract was awarded by ONE (Office National de l'Electricite), the Moroccan state-owned electricity utility.

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Killing of Two Moroccan Jews Strongly Condemned by Political Parties and Jewish Community

RABAT, Sep.15 - Moroccan political parties and members of the Jewish community in the kingdom were unanimous in condemning last week's separate killing of two Moroccan Jews in Casablanca (south of Rabat) and Meknes (east of the capital). Aferiate Ely Ben Abraham, 78 was stabbed to death Saturday morning near his house in Meknes, by an unidentified individual, two days after another Moroccan Jew, Albert Ribibo, was shot down by two hooded persons in Casablanca.

"The Moroccan society can only denounce these alien acts", said Ismail Alaoui, leader of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) who urged the authorities to investigate these two murders. He was echoed by the leader of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Abderrahmane Youssoufi, who voiced his "solidarity with our compatriots" of the Israeli community, saying that Morocco "is regardful of the protection of his sons". His deputy Secretary, Mohamed El Yazghi said these crimes are aimed at the safety and the tranquility of the Moroccans, adding that his party rejects all forms of violence, ostracism and hatred.

These murders were also strongly condemned by one of the leaders of the Islamist party, Party of Justice and development (PJD), Saâd Eddine Othmani, who said: "we can only condemn any aggression or act violence against Moroccan citizens be they Muslims or Jews". His party, he added, wants that "all Moroccan citizens be able to live in security, stability and dignity in a country where the rule of the law prevails without any religious or racial discrimination".

"Nothing could justify these two crimes", said on his part the leader of Popular Movement (MP), Mohand Laenser, for whom "these acts do not in anyway serve the interests of Morocco known for its stability".

While the Moroccan Liberal Party hopes that those killings "have no relation whatsoever with religious fanaticism given the fact that Morocco has constantly been a country of tolerance and coexistence between all religions(...)", the leader of the Party of Alliance of Freedoms, Ali Belhaj insisted that such behaviors "are alien to the Moroccan culture and tradition".

Members of the Moroccan Jewish community have also condemned these killings, among whom Sion Assidon, a human rights activist, who told the satellite TV "Abou Dhabi", that the Moroccan Jewish community forms an integral part of the Moroccan people and that "the aim of these murders is to serve interests that are alien to the Moroccan people". Maurice Toledano, chairman of the Jewish community in Casablanca praised the "constant care" H.M. king Mohammed VI has always shown to the Moroccan Jewish community saying the condolences message sent by the monarch to his community has comforted the Moroccan Jews. Simon Lévy, secretary general of this community called for a swift reaction to these murders both on the political and security levels. Following these two killings, H.M. King Mohammed VI expressed "deep sadness and emotion" in a condolences message sent on Saturday to secretary general of the Council of Jewish Communities in Morocco, Serge Berdugo.

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Morocco, US group to set up facility to finance small, medium enterprises
Morocco-USA, Economics, 9/17/2003

Morocco and the Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC) concluded in Rabat Monday an agreement on the setting up of a facility to finance small and medium enterprises in North Africa. Under the agreement, Morocco's Agence Nationale pour la Promotion de la PME (national agency for the promotion of small and medium enterprises), IFC will provide technical assistance to this facility. The first donor board meeting of the North Africa Enterprise Development (NAED), held Monday in Paris, marked the formal launch of IFC's newest multi-donor small and medium enterprise facility. NAED will offer an integrated package of technical assistance and capacity-building services to support small and medium business growth in Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt.

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H.M King Mohammed VI Launches New School Year
RABAT, Sep.15 -

H.M King Mohammed VI visited Monday Ahmed El Kacimi school in Rabat to mark the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year. Interior minister, Mustapha Sahel, national education and youth minister, Habib El Malki, and other officials were present at the school. On this occasion, new school books were presented to the sovereign toured the classrooms of the school which groups 1,163 pupils, including 563 girls. Afterwards, the children-chorus Zyriab chanted songs to welcome the sovereign.

About 5,909,000 pupils registered in schools this year, that is a rise of 2.2 percent in comparison with last year. As many as 95% of 6-year old children are scheduled to attend school this year, that is an increase of 4 percent compared to last school year. Meanwhile, the schooling rate of children aged between 6 and 11 is expected to rise from 91 to 94 percent over the same period while schooling in the 12 to 14 age bracket will increase from 68 to 73 percent. Children's schooling in rural areas augmented by 2.9 percent in elementary education, 17 percent in pre-high schools and 9.4 percent in high schools.

It was also announced that Morocco has withdrawn all school books that contradict the civilizational values of the kingdom, citizenship principles and human rights. Besides, new courses were introduced to reinforce pedagogical, cultural, sports and health activities and improve the teaching of foreign languages. The new reforms include the introduction of Amazigh language teaching at schools.

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Number of Moroccan high schools pupils up by 8.72%
Morocco, Education, 9/15/2003

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Teaching of Berber Language To Be Generalized by 2008

RABAT, Sept 17 - The "Amazigh", a Berber language spoken in many parts of Morocco, will be taught by 2008, in all primary and secondary schools in Morocco, announced a government report released here Wednesday. The report by the Ministry of National Education and Youth, released on the occasion of the start of the school year, said the teaching of Amazigh will be done step by step in all primary and secondary schools of the country by the year 2003.  The first batch of Amazigh teachers will undergo training during the academic year (2003-2004), said the ministry which will work in coordination with the Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture to achieve this goal. The official language in Morocco is Arabic.

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Women 'Untapped Resource' in Middle East and North Africa, says Report
VOA News 17 Sep 2003,

A new World Bank report says women are an untapped resource in the Middle East and North Africa, and that gender inequality is holding back economies in those regions. The report on gender and development was released Wednesday at the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, being held this year in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank says women comprise half the population in the 19 countries that make up the Middle East and North Africa, but are only one-third of the labor force. By comparison, in East Asia and the Pacific, women are 75 percent of the labor market.

The report says household incomes in the Middle East and North Africa could rise by as much as 25 percent if female participation in the work force increased on a par with education levels and age. For many families, this would push them into the middle class. The report blamed a combination of economic, social and political factors for holding women back in the region, and urged policy changes to engage more women. The World Bank says inequalities between men and women are widespread, and views gender equality as part of its strategy for reducing world poverty. Some information for this report provided by AP.

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EU lauds modernization and openness drive in Morocco
Morocco-European Union, Politics, 9/13/2003

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Three persons arrested in Fes for abortion attempt

Morocco, Local, 9/17/2003

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Cloete and El Guerrouj are Athletes of the Year

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Morocco to accelerate audiovisual sector reform

Morocco, Politics, 9/16/2003

Moroccan communication minister and the government's spokesman, Nabil Benabdellah, said Morocco is set to accelerate the reform of the audiovisual sector in the upcoming days. Benabdellah told Moroccan daily "Al Alam" in an interview published this Monday efforts are intensified so that the council of government adopts shortly a new law regulating the communication sector in Morocco.

The minister said he hoped the bill will be submitted to the parliament on November 15, on the national information and communication Day, and adopted before the end of the year to allow the implementation of the reform plan at the beginning of year 2004. The minister deemed king Mohammed VI's appointment of new officials in the communication and information sectors a translation of a strong resolve for change and a consecration of the reforms drive that will speed up during the coming months.

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Marrakesh film festival eyes Cannes, Venice level

Morocco, Economics, 9/17/2003

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Moroccan writer and Bosnian professor win UNESCO Sharjah prize for Arab culture
Regional-United Arab Emirates, Culture, 9/17/2003

Moroccan writer Bin Salem Himmich and Bosnian professor, Esad Durakovic, won this year's UNESCO Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture. Moroccan Novelist, poet and essayist, Bin Salem Himmich has published 26 books in Arabic and French, including literary works and research publications.

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Morocco to host IT expo

Morocco, Local, 9/19/2003

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Local polls: under-44 make nearly half of elected councilors
Morocco, Local, 9/15/2003

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Local Elections: Over 120 Women Elected

RABAT, Sep. 14- A total of 127 women were elected in the local polls held Friday in Morocco out of 6,024 women who run for seats at communal councils, accounting for 5% of candidates. The score of women in Friday's communal elections marks a slight increase compared to the 1997 communal polls, both as regards female candidacies that stood at 1,657 and the successful women candidates that did not exceed 83. Although eight political parties had pledged in a code of ethics to allocate at least 20% of their candidacies to women in the communal elections, women candidacies remained as low as 5 percent. The low participation of women was decried by some members of the coordination commission of women members of political parties who criticized political parties' failure to abide by the pledge taken by eight political parties to attribute at least 20% of candidacies to women. In last year's legislative elections, the government decided to reserve 30 seats in the 325-seat House of Representatives to women. Some 122,069 candidates vied for 23,680 seats in Friday's local polls which are the first since H.M. King Mohammed VI accessed to the throne in 1999 and the eighth ones to be held since independence © MAP 2003

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Morocco local poll results show Islamists sidelined
13 Sep 2003 By Gilles Trequesser

RABAT, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Morocco's political landscape looked set to emerge unchanged from local elections likely to sideline moderate Islamists from municipal management in key cities, partial official results showed on Saturday. Islamists of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) have been kept under close scrutiny since suicide attacks by Islamic radicals in Casablanca in May shook the Muslim kingdom. The vote on Friday was to choose about 23,000 town and local district councillors in the North African country's first municipal elections since reform-minded King Mohammed, 40, came to the throne in 1999. Early results, mainly from rural areas, showed the two leading traditional parties, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) and the conservative Istiqlal (Independence), taking most seats. Results for about 30 percent of the seats up for grabs gave USFP and Istiqlal both 16 percent of the vote mainly in communes with less than 25,000 inhabitants. The PJD trailed badly with only one percent, 87 seats on a total of 6,952 known so far, Interior Ministry figures showed. These early results did not include large cities where a list voting system made counting slower. Final results there were not expected until Saturday night.

The showing of PJD candidates was closely watched as the polls were overshadowed by attacks in Casablanca on May 16 in which 12 Islamist suicide bombers killed 33 people. But under apparent government pressure and aware that public outrage over the attacks and a climate of fear made Islamists unpopular, the PJD retrenched and fielded candidates in only 20 percent of constituencies.

For the first time, Moroccans also elected city councils for the six largest cities, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakesh, Rabat, Sale and Tangiers. There, the PJD presented candidates in 50 percent of constituencies and there also turnout was a low 37 percent of registered voters, according to official figures. Deputy secretary-general Saad Eddine Othmani said the party did fairly well in Casablanca, in the eight of 16 constituencies it was present, and won the mid-sized central city of Meknes. It was also leading in the number of votes in a dozen smaller cities such as Tetouan, Kenitra, Larache, Beni Mellal The authorities protrayed the elections, and last year's parliamentary ones which saw the PJD treble its number of seats, as fair and a big step towards real democracy.

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Nationalist party wins most seats in Morocco's election

The nationalist Istiqlal party has won the most seats in local elections in Morocco, ahead of its ally in the governing coalition - the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), final results reveal. The two parties in the coalition, led by Prime Minister Driss Jettou, are the only ones with candidates in virtually all of the 23,600 local constituencies in Friday's election in the north African kingdom. Istiqlal won 3,890 and the USFP 3,373 of the 23,689 local council seats up for grabs, Interior Minister Mostapha Sahel said.

Islamists of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), taking part in local elections for the first time, won 593 seats and ranked 11th of the 26 parties participating. After suicide attacks in Casablanca in May, in which 45 people died and which were blamed on radical Islamist extremists, Islamists limited their participation in the poll, putting up only 3 per cent of all candidates and standing in only 18 per cent of constituencies.

The PJD made a major breakthrough in parliamentary elections in September 2002, establishing itself as the chief opposition party with 43 deputies.

The government has described the municipal election as an important step in the democratisation of the country and it has taken on even greater importance against the backdrop of the Casablanca attacks. Some 14.6 million Moroccans were registered to vote for 122,600 candidates. The Interior Minister said turnout was 54 per cent. By contrast 75.1 per cent voted in the last local elections in June 1997. -- AFP

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Status quo maintained in Morocco after local elections

Canadian Press

Saturday, September 13, 2003

RABAT, Morocco (AP) - Morocco's two largest political parties cemented their standing in local elections, while a closely watched Islamic party made modest gains in the first vote since May suicide bombings by Muslim extremists. The Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the conservative Istiqlal were the biggest winners in final results announced Saturday. Both parties are members of the coalition government and together they won nearly one-third of the vote. Moroccans voted Friday for 23,689 seats for local councillors across the North African kingdom.

The ballot was seen as a test of the strength of a moderate Islamic party, Justice and Development, that has gained ground quickly since its founding in 1997. The group placed 11th out of 27 parties in the running, said Interior Minister Mustapha Sahel, who announced the figures. However, the showing was not seen as a true measure of its popularity. Concerned about a growing fundamentalist presence, Morocco's government had put pressure on the party to lower its profile in the election. The party agreed and presented only 4,268 candidates - less than four per cent of the 122,658 candidates running.

The interior minister announced turnout of just over 54 per cent, higher than expected. The rate was closely watched as a sign of whether Moroccans took seriously their government's pledge of a free and fair election. With 3,980 seats, Istiqlal won nearly 17 per cent of the vote and should control Casablanca, Morocco's largest city and economic hub. The Socialist Union took 3.373 seats, or nearly 15 per cent, and is likely to hold the capital Rabat. The Islamic Justice and Development party, which was not present in the last local elections in 1997, made modest though significant gains. It will hold 593 council seats, or about 2.5 per cent. Justice and Development, which draws its support in impoverished urban suburbs and among university students, has rallied against the French-speaking elite, denounced rampant corruption and called for a strengthening of Arab-Muslim identity. The party surprised Morocco last September, tripling its seats in legislative elections and taking 43 seats in the 325-seat assembly. Moroccan authorities and the pro-government media have accused the party of "moral responsibility" in May 16 attacks in Casablanca that killed 33 bystanders and 12 suicide bombers.

The attacks shook the Muslim kingdom that had been spared violence, despite an 11-year-old bloody Islamic insurgency in neighbouring Algeria. Authorities said an international network was behind the bombings that mainly targeted Jewish and Spanish sites. The government's investigation into the attacks showed Moroccans from shantytowns carried out the five nearly simultaneous suicide bombings and have yet to show solid evidence of an international link. Starting with last year's legislative election, Morocco began promising its citizens a free and fair vote. Those elections were an important step in a process of liberalization launched by King Mohammed after the 1999 death of his father, Hassan II. © Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press

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Islamists sidelined in Morocco local poll

14 Sep 2003 (Recasts with final results)

By Gilles Trequesser

RABAT, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Morocco's moderate Islamists were sidelined at local elections held under the shadow of suicide attacks in Casablanca and final results showed on Saturday that the political landscape was largely unchanged. The two leading traditional parties, the conservative nationalist Istiqlal (Independence) and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), together won more than 30 percent of the seats up for grabs in Friday's vote.

The Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) had more than trebled its seats in parliament last year. But this time it was under close government scrutiny after Islamic radicals shook the Muslim kingdom in May with the Casablanca attacks. Under government pressure, the party fielded candidates in only 20 percent of constituencies and finished in eleventh place overall. The outcome was expected but analysts warned against reading too much into it.

Voters had to chose about 23,000 town and local district councillors in the North African country's first municipal elections since reform-minded King Mohammed, 40, came to the throne in 1999. Istiqlal and USFP, who head the year-old coalition government of technocrat Prime Minister Driss Jettou, won 16.96 percent and 14.70 percent of the seats respectively, according to results announced by Interior Minister Mustapha Sahel. The centre-left National Independent Rally finished third with 10.97 percent. The PJD had only 593 seats or 2.58 percent.

NO SURPRISE

"These results are understandable because we opted to limit our representation in these elections," PJD deputy secretary-general Saad Eddine Othmani told Reuters. "But if you draw a ratio of seats against (the) number of candidates, we're among the winners." With the PJD essentially asked to bide its time and not seek the kind of electoral gains it made at the parliamentary polls, the result came as no surprise. "Little was a stake since we knew in advance the PJD was adopting a low profile," said political analyst Mohamed Darif. The government blamed the Casablanca attacks, in which 12 suicide bombers killed 33 people, on the radical Islamic movement, the Salafist Jihad, and said their authors, who came from shanty towns, had links to the al Qaeda network.

For the first time, Moroccans elected councils for the country's six largest cities, including Casablanca. In the cities, the PJD fielded candidates in 50 percent of the constituencies and Othmani said the party hoped "to be able to participate in the municipal management". With 16 members in the 131-seat Casablanca council, the PJD came just behind the USFP (17) and Istiqlal (19). Political bargaining will decide who becomes mayor of Casablanca and most other cities. Voter apathy was widespread, particularly in the larger cities, following a dull electoral campaign. Turnout was 54.16 percent of the 14.6 million registered voters, up from the 52 percent at last September's parliamentary elections. The voting age was lowered this year to 18 from 20.

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Morocco: Results of the Communal Elections

17 September 2003

Moroccans went to the polls last week for local elections - and the latest figures show the traditional parties were the big winners, and the Islamists the big losers. In an attempt to gauge the atmosphere, OBG visited Sidi Moumen - the poor and now notorious suburb of Casablanca - and found a mixture of apathy, mass political marketing, debate, and perhaps most importantly, hope, surrounding Morocco's first polls in the aftermath of the May 16 terrorist attacks.

Sidi Moumen made headlines last May when investigations uncovered it was home to the suicide bombers who carried out the string of massive attacks which shook Morocco to its foundations. Since then, some important changes have been brought in. New social housing is popping up rapidly, a large (and somewhat anomalous) dual carriageway links the district to the outside world, and lighting has entered the streets.

But ask residents of the shantytowns that dot the suburb, and cynicism remains. A new apartment costs only MAD160 000 (approximately EUR15 500), with a MAD20 000 deposit (approximately EUR1800). Yet even these sums are small fortunes for those who consider earning enough to buy their daily sustenance a successful day's work. 'The new housing is fine for those that can afford it', said one Sidi Moumen resident.

Meanwhile, the new road is doubtless an improvement on what was apparently a pothole-strewn track, yet it looks out of sorts - a modern carriageway populated by bashed up jalopies and the ubiquitous old white Mercedes taxis. The main improvement since May, according to some locals, has been security - including stepped up police patrols and lighting. But with such measures in place, people were still reticent to make their voices heard. When asked if they would participate in the upcoming election, many Sidi Moumen residents replied 'I'd rather work', 'I'm too busy at the moment' or 'perhaps after the Friday Prayers'.

Sidi Moumen was awash with the same mass electoral marketing as the rest of Casablanca. The pavement around the mosque had become a sea of paper, little pieces proclaiming the benefits of this or that party, or simply each party's symbols - olives, camels, ladders, and black horses, to name a few.

The previous day Moroccans with mobile phones had received SMS messages exhorting them to vote. 'To promote life in your commune, go to the voting office and choose the candidate or list that replies to your aspirations," ordered one message.

Unfortunately, it seems as though political apathy is not so efficiently tackled by marketing tricks. The main problem, of course, is cynicism vis-à-vis the elected. 'They make promises before each election,' says one Sidi Moumen resident. 'Then they ignore us after they are elected'.

On the macro scale, this is cause for alarm. The latest figures for participation in these local elections run at around 54%. On the positive side, this is actually a slight improvement on last year's general elections, when only 52% voted. On the negative side, this is down on the approximately 74-75% who voted in the last local elections six years ago.

Local elections are usually the first event to suffer when it comes to voter apathy in a democratic system (compare figures in 'mature democracies' like Britain for example, where local elections usually garner around a 30% participation rate, and Moroccans are still quite active). But in a country where democratic institutions are only just beginning to become strongly embedded, it is surprising how quickly abstentionism has become the norm.

The large drop in PJD (the only legal Islamist party) votes has also caused media debate. After last year's elections, when the party became the third largest force in parliament last year after winning 13% of the vote and 42 seats, many predicted at the start of the year that the PJD might make a significant breakthrough at the local elections - gaining control perhaps of Casablanca.

As it turns out, PJD support collapsed to 5%, and it only garnered 2.6% of total municipal seats available.

Some have argued that this is a reflection of voters being put off by the Islamist message in the light of the May 16 terrorist attacks. Certainly its poor performance in cities it had targeted like Meknes would go to support this argument.

At the same time, this approach overlooks the fact that the PJD limited its participation in these elections, precisely to avoid causing too much political fallout. This is true both for the internal as for the external climate. As one political commentator put it, a PJD electoral breakthrough at this moment in time would be viewed particularly negatively abroad.

In Casablanca, for example, the PJD maintained its position as the third most important party, gaining 12.22% of the vote, coming top of the list in four districts of the city and tied for first place in two others (including Maârif, a middle-upper class, and therefore not a typical 'pro-Islamist' suburb). The performance here is all the more impressive for this party, considering that it did not field candidates in seven of the electoral districts.

The big winners in the local elections were the large traditional parties - the centre-right Parti Istiqlal (17%), centre-left USFP (14.7%) and the Mouvance Populaire (split for obscure reasons into three parties - their combined weight comes to 22.5%).

It now remains for them to prove that municipal politics counts - with political discourse favouring decentralisation, new local institutions like mayorships in Rabat and Casablanca, and new town councils in cities with a population of over 500 000, the political space is there for local politics to contribute to Morocco's still impressive political liberalisation.

But to judge the contribution of local politics it is perhaps useful to gain an insight at the local level. Two small comments at a Sidi Moumen polling station, both from the mouths of young voters ('the future of Moroccan democracy'), afford an interesting insight into the progress of citizenship in the country.

In one case, a young voter, having cast his vote, started a rant at the lack of facilities: 'They do not even provide us with some lemonade'. A frivolous remark perhaps, but also a sign of a lack of awareness of what elections are about, as well as suggesting the possibility that voting should be rewarded materially - with all the worrying implications of political clientelism and short-term electoral patronage.

In the second case, the young voter, despite expressing his cynicism with local politicians and his disappointment with the PJD's absence, said he was still willing to vote 'to get rid of the bad image Sidi Moumen has received' after the terrorist attacks. Such a sense of civic duty in so young a voter should restore confidence in even the most hardened cynic.

Christopher de Oliveira

© Oxford Business Group 2003