Morocco Seeks Greater Participation of Women in 2021 Elections

 Morocco’s Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit (AFP)
Morocco’s Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit (AFP)
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Morocco Seeks Greater Participation of Women in 2021 Elections

 Morocco’s Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit (AFP)
Morocco’s Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit (AFP)

Morocco’s Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit said that women’s political representation has not yet reached the required level in the country.

Laftit remarks came in a meeting held Tuesday with women’s organizations as part of preparations for the 2021 elections, during which he highlighted women’s prominent contribution to the political action in the Kingdom.

He said concerted efforts would ensure a significant and fair representation of women in the 2021 legislative and municipal elections.

Before the 2016 legislative elections, Moroccan women were hoping to raise their representation in parliament to at least one third, pending a parity that may take a long time.

However, a recent amendment on the House of Representative’s regulatory law was approved by the Interior Ministry and allowed an increase of only 15 additional seats for women in the next parliament.

It divided the 30-seats for youth in the national list between males and females to be added to the 60 seats authorized for women.

During the 2016 elections, women’s representation increased to 81, or 20.5 percent, out of 395 MPs, 60 were elected from the national list, nine from local lists, and 12 from the youth list.

Meanwhile, women’s representation in municipalities increased from 12 percent to 27 percent during the last elections and from 2.9 percent to 37 percent at the regional level, while the rate of municipalities headed by women did not exceed one percent.



Marzouki’s Case Referred to Anti-Terrorism Unit, Former Tunisian President Faces 20 New Charges

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
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Marzouki’s Case Referred to Anti-Terrorism Unit, Former Tunisian President Faces 20 New Charges

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki announced on Tuesday that he had been informed his case had been transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Judicial Unit. He now faces 20 charges, including inciting internal unrest and spreading false information.
Marzouki wrote on X that his brother, Mokhles, was summoned on Monday to the police station of El Kantaoui (governorate of Sousse) to sign a document stating that Moncef Marzouki’s case had been referred to the Anti-Terrorist Judicial Unit.
Marzouki wrote that he had already been convicted to four and eight years in prison in two separate cases.
He concluded his post with a famous quote borrowed from Abu al-Qasim al-Shabi, “Night will no doubt dissipate.”
Last February, a Tunisian court sentenced former president Moncef Marzouki to eight years in prison in absentia.
The charges against Marzouki, who lives in Paris, stemmed from remarks he made that authorities said violated laws and triggered incitement to overthrow the government.
Marzouki served as the first democratically elected president of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014.
This is the second time Moncef Marzouki has been sentenced for comments made at demonstrations and on social media. In December 2021, he received a four-year sentence for undermining state security.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Defence Minister Khaled S'hili announced that Tunisia's national army had dismantled terrorist camps, neutralized 62 landmines, and seized various materials and equipment in 2024, as part of ongoing efforts in the fight against terrorism.
As of October 31, the Tunisian army had conducted 990 anti-terrorist operations in suspected areas, including large-scale operations in the country's mountainous regions. These operations involved over 19,500 military personnel, according to Defense Minister Khaled S'hili, speaking at a joint session of the two chambers of parliament.
He then confirmed that these operations led to the arrest of around 695 smugglers and the seizure of 375,000 drug pills.