Africa > North Africa > Morocco > Morocco Government Profile

Morocco: Morocco Government Profile

2012/03/20

King  King Mohammed VI
King Mohammed VI of Morocco Despite reforms, the king still dominates political life

Groomed for "kingship", as his late father King Hassan II referred to his upbringing, Mohammed VI became monarch in 1999.

He initiated political and economic changes and an investigation into human rights abuses during his father's rule.

The king says the fight against poverty is a priority, earning him the name "guardian of the poor". Economic liberalisation has attracted foreign investment and officials point to better basic services in shanty towns and rural areas. But some non-government groups say little has changed, with poverty still widespread and unemployment remaining high.

A key reform has been the Mudawana, a law which grants more rights to women. The king has said it is in line with Koranic principles, but religious conservatives have opposed it.

Bomb attacks in Casablanca in 2003 prompted the enactment of new anti-terrorism laws and a reinvigorated campaign against extremists. But some rights groups say the measures have eroded human rights.

King Mohammed married computer engineer Salma Bennani in 2002. They have a son, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, born in 2003, and a daughter, Princess Lalla Khadija, born in 2007.

Under the constitution, the king can dissolve parliament and dismiss or appoint the prime minister. After protesters demanding political reform took to the streets in February 2011, King Mohammed announced a wide-ranging review of the constitution.

He scored a landslide victory in a July 2011 referendum on a reformed constitution which he proposed to placate "Arab Spring" protests. However, although the new constitution grants more powers to the prime minister and parliament, the king still retains veto power over most government decisions.

Prime minister: Abdelilah Benkirane

Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane Mr Benkirane insists that his party will not seek to curtail civil liberties in Morocco

Abdelilah Benkirane's moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) emerged as the biggest party in parliamentary elections in November 2011, and in accordance with Morocco's new constitution, introduced in July 2011, King Mohammed was obliged to choose a prime minister from the party that won the most seats.

Mr Benkirane leads a broad coalition, in which his party holds the top positions but governs in tandem with conservative monarchists, liberals, socialists and former communists. The PJD holds the largest number of portfolios in the new government - 12 out of 31 cabinet posts. The party is in power for the first time and is the first Islamist party to run the Arab world's oldest monarchy.

However, several cabinet posts, including that of religious affairs, have been directly appointed by the palace.

Morocco is beset by soaring unemployment and the rising prices of basic commodities, and the new prime minister promised that the government's focus would be on creating jobs and tackling corruption. Nonetheless, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Casablanca in a trade-union rally to protest at the government's lack of progress on these issues.

Mr Benkirane, who was elected head of the PJD in 2008, leads its more pro-monarchy faction and has stated his support for a strong king.

Born in Rabat, he trained as a teacher and went on to set up a private school. After an early flirtation with socialism, he joined an Islamic youth group in his early twenties. He is married and has six children.

Government

A constitutional monarchy, Morocco is governed under the constitution of 1972 as amended. The king, who is the head of state, holds effective power and appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. The bicameral Parliament consists of the 270-seat Chamber of Counselors, whose members are elected by indirect vote for nine-year terms, and the 325-seat Chamber of Representatives, whose members are elected by popular vote for five-year terms. Administratively, the country is divided into 15 regions.

Government type: 

constitutional monarchy

Administrative divisions: 

15 regions; Grand Casablanca, Chaouia-Ouardigha, Doukkala-Abda, Fes-Boulemane, Gharb-Chrarda-Beni Hssen, Guelmim-Es Smara, Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, Meknes-Tafilalet, Oriental, Rabat-Sale-Zemmour-Zaer, Souss-Massa-Draa, Tadla-Azilal, Tanger-Tetouan, Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate note: Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara, the political status of which is considered undetermined by the US Government; portions of the regions Guelmim-Es Smara and Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra as claimed by Morocco lie within Western Sahara; Morocco also claims Oued Eddahab-Lagouira, another region which falls entirely within Western Sahara 行政区划:

Independence: 

2 March 1956 (from France)

National holiday: 

Throne Day (accession of King MOHAMMED VI to the throne), 30 July (1999)

Constitution: 

10 March 1972; revised 4 September 1992, amended September 1996 note: the amendment of September 1996 was to create a bicameral legislature

Legal system: 

based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law systems; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 

18 years of age; universal (as of January 2003)

Legislative branch: 

bicameral Parliament consists of a Chamber of Counselors (or upper house) (270 seats; members elected indirectly by local councils, professional organizations, and labor syndicates for nine-year terms; one-third of the members are elected every three years) and Chamber of Representatives (or lower house) (325 seats; 295 members elected by multi-seat constituencies and 30 from national lists of women; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms) elections: Chamber of Counselors - last held 8 September 2006 (next to be held in 2009); Chamber of Representatives - last held 7 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Chamber of Counselors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PI 17, MP 14, RNI 13, USFP 11, UC 6, PND 4, PPS 4, Al Ahd 4, other 17; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PI 52, PJD 46, MP 41, RNI 39, USFP 38, UC 27, PPS 17, FFD 9, MDS 9, Al Ahd 8, other 39

Judicial branch: 

Supreme Court (judges are appointed on the recommendation of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the monarch)

Political parties and leaders : 

Action Party or PA [Mohammed EL IDRISSI]; Al Ahd (The Covenant) Party [Najib EL OUAZZANI]; Alliance des Libert'es (Alliance of Liberty) or ADL [Ali BELHAJ]; An-Nahj Ad-Dimocrati or An-Nahj [Abdellah EL HARIF]; Authenticity and Modernity Party or PAM [Mohamed Cheikh BIADILLAH, Secretary General]; Choura et Istiqlal (Consultation and Independence) Party or PCI [Abdelwahed MAACH]; Citizens' Forces or FC [Abderrahman LAHJOUJI]; Citizenship and Development Initiative or ICD [Mohamed BENHAMOU]; Constitutional Union Party or UC [Mohammed ABIED]; Democratic and Social Movement or MDS [Mahmoud ARCHANE]; Democratic Forces Front or FFD [Touhami EL KHIARI]; Democratic Socialist Vanguard Party or PADS [Ahmed BENJELLOUN]; Democratic Society Party or PSD [Zhor CHEKKAFI]; Democratic Union or UD [Bouazza IKKEN]; Environment and Development Party or PED [Ahmed EL ALAMI]; Istiqlal (Independence) Party or PI [Abbas EL FASSI]; Justice and Development Party or PJD [Abdelilah BENKIRANE]; Labor Party or PT [Abdelkrim BENATIK]; Moroccan Liberal Party or PML [Mohamed ZIANE]; National Democratic Party or PND [Abdallah KADIRI]; National Ittihadi Congress Party or CNI [Abdelmajid BOUZOUBAA]; National Popular Movement or MNP [Mahjoubi AHERDANE]; National Rally of Independents or RNI [Mustapha EL MANSOURI]; National Union of Popular Forces or UNFP [Abdellah IBRAHIM]; Popular Movement or MP [Mohamed LAENSER]; Progress and Socialism Party or PPS [Ismail ALAOUI]; Reform and Development Party or PRD [Abderrahmane EL KOUHEN]; Renaissance and Virtue Party or PRV [Mohamed KHALIDI]; Renewal and Equity Party or PRE [Chakir ACHABAR]; Social Center Party or PSC [Lahcen MADIH]; Socialist Democratic Party or PSD [Aissa OUARDIGHI]; Socialist Union of Popular Forces or USFP [Abdelwahed RADI]; Unified Socialist Left Party or PGSU [Mohamed Ben Said AIT IDDER]

Political pressure groups and leaders: 

Democratic Confederation of Labor or CDT [Noubir AMAOUI]; General Union of Moroccan Workers or UGTM [Abderrazzak AFILAL]; Moroccan Employers Association or CGEM [Hassan CHAMI]; National Labor Union of Morocco or UNMT [Abdelslam MAATI]; Union of Moroccan Workers or UMT [Mahjoub BENSEDDIK]

International organization participation: 

ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club (associate), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Flag description: 

red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as Sulayman's (Solomon's) seal in the center of the flag; red and green are traditional colors in Arab flags, although the use of red is more commonly associated with the Arab states of the Persian gulf; design dates to 1912