Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- Morocco’s second parliamentary elections under the 2011 Arab-spring-pushed constitution has kicked off this morning.
A total of 15,702,592 Moroccans, around 46% of the population, are entitled to cast their vote, with 30% of the electorate under the age of 35.
Around 4000 monitors, including 91 foreigners, will be monitoring the elections.
The PJD (Party of Justice and Development) is expected to win the elections easily, if few or no irregularities are witnessed, yet surprises may occur as a lot of tensions and irregularities have been witnessed in the time span leading to the 2-weeks official electoral campaign period, especially as the campaign entered its final stages.
In fact, many breaches have been witnessed by a number of Morocco’s Ministry of Interior agents, who were caught at various instances rallying people to vote against the PJD party, asking people to support the PAM party, in a flagrant disregard to the Ministry’s supposed fair and transparent role as an institution that supervises the electoral process.
This has driven many Moroccans, including rank and file members of the PJD party, to believe that Morocco’s Ministry of Interior gave orders to its local agents (Walis, Kaids, Mkadems, Cheick, etc..) to rally people to support the PAM party, hinting out that the establishment does not want to see the PJD anymore holding the reins of power, though a very limited one (power).
The Moroccan Times.
