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PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHCL #0180/01 2491728
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061728Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7828
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0301
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 8078
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0588
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 2051
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 2928

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CASABLANCA 000180 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND NEA/PI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2017 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL MO
SUBJECT: NORTHERN MOROCCO ELECTORATE EXPECTS LITTLE FROM ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A) RABAT 1394; B) RABAT 1395; c) RABAT 1248 
 
Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Charles Cole for reasons 1.4 
(B) AND (D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: In Al Hoceima, on Morocco's Mediterranean coast, 
estimates of voter turnout vary.  Most believe participation will be 
low, and will not exceed 50 percent.  Those interviewed said they 
would cast their votes based on family and tribal connections or what 
a candidate had done for them, rather than on party.  That said, many 
registered distaste for the (Islamist) Party of Justice and 
Development (PJD).  While a few individuals claimed a corruption-free 
environment, others admitted that bribery remains a problem.  On the 
whole, Al Hoceima residents are fed up with politicians' broken 
promises and expect nothing from parliamentary elections.  Those who 
go to the polls will vote for voting's sake or to support family, not 
for a party, platform or principle.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Econoff and FSN visited Al Hoceima on Morocco's Mediterranean 
coast from August 27-29 to gauge the population's perspective on 
parliamentary elections to be held September 7.  Al Hoceima has about 
60,000 residents, most of whom are Rif Berbers.  The region runs on 
remittances from the high percentage of locals who have migrated to 
Europe. 
 
------------------------------- 
ESTIMATES OF VOTER TURNOUT VARY 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Residents of the Al Hoceima area gave varying estimates of 
expected voter turnout.  Dr. Mohamed Boudra, Al Hoceima's mayor and 
the leading candidate for the Party for Progress and Socialism (PPS), 
projected a level of participation of 50 percent.  Optimistically, he 
said he believes all types of people will vote, from women to youth 
to intellectuals.  The local (nationalist) Istiqlal party campaign 
manager, and the brother of the party's main candidate, also 
estimated 40 to 50 percent participation. 
 
¶4. (C) In the rocky village of Izemmouren, 11 km from Al Hoceima, 
residents held different views on voter participation.  A municipal 
councilman there said he expected voter turnout to reach 80 percent. 
Despite this prediction of high participation, however, he thought 
few women would vote - a feeling shared by several young men from the 
town.  In addition, the councilman conceded that many villagers live 
four to six kilometers from the nearest polling station, making 
travel difficult unless someone provides a car - which parties are 
forbidden to do (ref A).  Asked if people would take the initiative 
to vote under such circumstances, the councilman said yes, they would 
take a taxi or walk, as they do for lesser activities such as card 
games. 
 
------------------------------ 
PICK THE PERSON, NOT THE PARTY 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) Most people agreed that the individual trumps the party when 
it comes to choosing a candidate.  Ever the politician, PPS's Boudra 
claimed that voters are interested in a candidate's credibility, with 
party affiliation a strong influence.  Residents of Izemmouren, 
however, were more direct, saying that people would vote for someone 
if he was family, put on a good show, or completed projects in the 
area.  A councilman in Izemmouren declined to name his candidate of 
choice, but did say he was a relative.  Similarly, a group of 
unemployed young men indicated that, though they did not yet know for 
whom they would vote, family or tribal connections would drive their 
decision. 
 
---------------------- 
BUT DON'T PICK THE PJD 
---------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) While people placed more importance on the candidate than his 
party affiliation, many expressed distain for the (Islamist) Party of 
Justice and Development (PJD).  Both Istiqlal's campaign manager and 
Boudra felt the PJD had showed up too late, opening their local 
headquarters just a few weeks prior to the start of the official 
campaign period.  In separate conversations, both men noted with 
amused derision that the PJD calls itself 'the party of Islam.' As 
the Istiqlal campaign manager put it, "What does that make us?" 
 
¶7. (C) According to Boudra, the PJD plays upon the sentiments of 
disenchanted youth, who feel Muslims are victims and want to lash out 
against the West.  He believes the people of Al Hoceima do not go in 
for this line of thinking, as they are traditional and cling to the 
religion of their parents and grandparents.  A young woman who works 
 
CASABLANCA 00000180  002 OF 002 
 
 
at Al Hoceima's Regional Investment Center did say she would vote for 
the PJD "to see what they could do," but this may be a function of 
the fact that she is not from Al Hoceima but from Taza, closer to Fez 
where the PJD has more influence. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
CORRUPTION-FREE ELECTIONS - IN WORD, IF NOT IN DEED 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶8. (C) At least in word, corruption in Morocco is no longer a la 
mode.  Izemmouren's councilman insisted that his town is 
corruption-free and that no one would trade votes for bribes.  To 
emphasize his point, he swore he would sooner survive on cactus fruit 
than resort to vote-selling.  Izemmouren's young men also said they 
could not be bought.  The councilman's high estimate of voter 
turnout, combined with avowals of no corruption, suggest that 
citizens have at least heard the GOM's pre-election rhetoric, 
encouraging voting and discouraging corruption.  Further discussion, 
however, revealed that reality may not match rhetoric.  One of the 
young men, for example, said that if he accepted a bribe, he would 
not necessarily vote as promised.  Furthermore, he would expect a 
service in return for selling his vote. 
 
¶9. (C) PPS candidate Boudra put the onus on the electorate to refuse 
bribes, saying "corruption functions in the conscience of voters" 
(ref A).  He admitted that candidates buy votes with money, but 
believed the presence of observers will prevent this.  With over 500 
polling stations in Al Hoceima alone, however, he said 3000 
country-wide observers are grossly insufficient. 
 
-------------------------------- 
BROKEN PROMISES, NO EXPECTATIONS 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) Across the board, people in Al Hoceima expect little from 
parliamentary elections.  One woman working at a microcredit bureau 
said she will not go to the polls on election day because she "does 
not want to vote for someone to sleep in parliament."  A young man 
from Izemmouren recounted the story of a campaigning candidate who 
asked him what town he was in; naturally, the young man questioned 
how someone who does not even know where he is can help him. 
Candidates and voters alike agree that people put more stock in 
municipal elections than parliamentary ones, reflecting their 
preoccupation with basic problems such as transport, sanitation and 
unemployment, as well as their utter disappointment with politicians 
who fail to make good on promises.  Still, some Al Hoceima residents 
will vote, if only because "at least if they vote, they are trying." 
 
¶11. (C) Comment: The image of two teenage boys distributing campaign 
flyers by Al Hoceima's taxi stand sums up the election outlook in 
northern Morocco.  One tries to give the flyers to passersby, while 
the other tosses a few on the ground every few steps, eager to be rid 
of his stack.  While some seem willing to go through the motions of 
participating in a parliamentary election, the majority is apathetic 
and sees the exercise as futile.  End Comment. 
 
COLE