Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
on 7 September 2007, the second of King
Mohammed VI Muhammad VI may refer to:
* Muhammad Imaaduddeen VI (1868–1932), sultan of the Maldives from 1893 to 1902
* Mehmed VI (1861–1926), sultan of Ottoman Empire, from 1918 to 1922
* Mohammed VI of Morocco (born 1963), King of Morocco since 19 ...
's reign. Voter turnout was estimated to be 37%, the lowest in Moroccan political history. There were 33 different parties and 13
independent candidates
An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicians have political views th ...
competing for 325 assembly seats. An amount of $61 million was allocated by the Moroccan government to organize the 2007 elections.
The number of constituencies was increased from 91 to 95 before this election.Morocco's electoral constituencies increased to 95 People's Daily, 24 August 2007 Interior minister
Chakib Benmoussa
Chakib Benmoussa ( ar, شكيب بن موسى) (born 1958, Fes) is a Moroccan diplomat and politician. He previously served as the interior minister of Morocco However, BBC correspondent Richard Hamilton accused the government of
gerrymandering
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
in order to prevent the Justice and Development Party from winning.
According to many analysts the complex voting system makes it almost impossible for any group to win an outright majority, although others have disagreed with this view, arguing that the electoral system is not particularly unusual and should favor large partie Whatever the outcome, real power will remain with the king, who is executive head of state, military chief and religious leader.
For the first time in the history of elections in Morocco, they are being monitored by foreign observers including the U.S.'s National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and 42 others.
Turnout in the election was only 37% - the lowest in the history of Moroccan national elections. The Socialist Union of People's Forces (USFP), the largest party in the outgoing government lost nearly a quarter of its seats, and was replaced as the largest party by its coalition partner, the
Istiqlal Party
The Istiqlal Party ( ar, حزب الإستقلال, translit=Ḥizb Al-Istiqlāl, lit=Independence Party; french: Parti Istiqlal; zgh, ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵉⵙⵜⵉⵇⵍⴰⵍ) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and ...
Party of Progress and Socialism
The Party of Progress and Socialism ( ar, حزب التقدم والاشتراكية, translit=Hizb Al-Taqadoum Wal-Ishtirakiyeh; zgh, ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵓⴼⴰⵔⴰ ⴷ ⵜⵏⵎⵍⴰ; french: Parti du Progrès et du Socialisme, PPS) ...