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DE RUEHRB #1641/01 2481642
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RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 9027
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 5569
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 3084
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4369
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 2081

UNCLAS RABAT 001641 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM MO
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT: UPPER HOUSE ELECTIONS SET FOR 
SEPTEMBER 8 
 
REF: A. RABAT 1506 
     ¶B. RABAT 1415 
 
¶1.  (U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified.  Please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Summary: On September 8, Morocco will hold 
indirect elections for 90 of the 270 seats in the Chamber 
of Councilors, the upper house of parliament.  The official 
campaign period started September 1 and runs through 
midnight on September 7.  In late August, the Minister of 
Interior outlined to the Parliament measures adopted by the 
MOI to ensure transparency in the upcoming elections. 
Several lower house parliamentarians, however, called the 
steps "absolutely insufficient."  Several political parties 
have also openly questioned the upper house's mandate, and 
the very existence of two parliamentary chambers.  While a 
topic of conversation among Morocco's elite, upper house 
elections do not resonate with the population at large. 
End Summary. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Indirect elections for one-third of the 270 seats 
in Morocco's Chamber of Councilors, the upper house of 
parliament, will take place on September 8.  Building on 
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and Ministry of Interior 
(MOI) August 4 joint communiqu (ref A), the MOI on August 
27 issued a statement detailing official procedures for the 
upcoming elections.  According to the MOI, the official 
submission of candidacies took place between August 28 and 
August 31, while the official election campaign period 
started September 1 and runs through midnight on September 
¶7.  In the complex formula spelled out by the law, of the 
90 seats to be elected on September 8, municipal councils 
will elect 54 seats, chambers of agriculture will elect 11 
seats, chambers of commerce, industry and service will 
elect 8 seats, chambers of handicraft industries will elect 
7 seats, chambers of maritime fishing will elect 1 seat, 
and labor unions will elect 9 seats. 
 
----------------------------- 
Background On The Upper House 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Morocco's 1996 constitution established a 
bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house - the 
Chamber of Representatives, and an upper house - the 
Chamber of Councilors.  The upper house's 270 members serve 
nine-year terms, with one-third (90) of the chamber's 
membership elected every three years.  Members of the upper 
house are elected by regional electoral colleges.  In a 
given regional electoral college, those eligible to vote 
include: members of municipal councils, professional 
chambers, and labor unions. (Note: Municipal councils and 
the lower house of parliament are the only directly elected 
representative political institutions.  End Note.)  In 
1997, all 270 seats of the upper house were elected for the 
first time.  Elections were held in 2000 to renew one-third 
of the councilors elected in 1997, as was the case in 
¶2003.  (NB: In 2000 and 2003, a lottery system determined 
which councilors would be part of the one-third up for 
renewal.)  The remaining 90 seats up for election this year 
are those of members who have served full nine-year terms. 
 
------------------------------------- 
MOI at Parliament, Lower House Reacts 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On August 24, Minister of Interior Chakib 
Benmoussa appeared before the lower house's Interior 
Commission, his first appearance before parliament since 
becoming the Minister of Interior in February, to discuss 
the measures the MOI has put in place to limit the number 
of irregularities in this year's elections.  His visit came 
at the request of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces 
(USFP), Istiqlal, Justice and Development Party (PJD), and 
Popular Movement Union (UMP) parliamentary caucuses. 
According to French-language daily L'Economiste, Benmoussa 
explained to parliament that the MOI is determined to check 
corruption and guarantee transparency in the September 8 
election, and outlined that the MOI has met with political 
parties, issued a joint communiqu with the MOJ, and 
created an office to centralize election-related 
 
complaints. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Several lower house representatives, led by USFP 
caucus leader Driss Lachgar, expressed their displeasure 
with the steps taken by the MOI.  According to several 
media outlets, Lachgar termed the phenomenon of nine 
representatives resigning from the lower house to run for 
an upper house seat (ref B) "an act of treason," and 
pressed Benmoussa to explain why the MOI has not taken 
tougher measures to prevent these resignations.  Lachgar's 
sentiments were echoed by other lower house 
parliamentarians, including Ahmed Moufdi (Istiqlal) and 
Abdelilah Benkirane (PJD).  Ahmed Benjelloun, secretary 
general of the Socialist Democratic Vanguard Party (PADS), 
was quoted dismissing the MOI's measures as "absolutely 
insufficient."  (Note: PADS has boycotted all elections for 
the past two decades, but earlier this year announced it 
would participate in next year's lower house elections. 
End Note.) 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Koutla, the "democratic bloc" alliance 
between the USFP, Istiqlal, and the Party of Progress and 
Socialism (PPS), publicly questions the merits of a 
bicameral parliamentary system.  On August 29, Lachgar said 
in his party's French-language daily Liberation, "in 
democratic transitions, a country only needs one strong 
Chamber with a homogeneous majority and a real opposition," 
adding "currently we have two parliaments with exactly the 
same prerogatives." 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Other political parties have also joined the fray 
and have openly questioned the upper house's mandate, 
calling into question the advantages of a two chamber 
legislative system, and hinting at the benefits of a 
potential return to one chamber.  PADS secretary general 
Ahmed Benjelloun said, in an August 28 interview with 
French-language daily Aujourd'hui Le Maroc, that PADS has 
"always rejected the idea of creating an upper house." 
Benjelloun added that the upper house in its current 
configuration is "useless" and is "redundant with the lower 
house." 
 
----------------------------- 
Allegations of Irregularities 
----------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) According to L'Economiste, from July 23 to August 
24, the press exposed and reported to the MOI 47 cases of 
irregularities related to the upper house elections.  The 
47 infractions were grouped into the following four 
categories: organizing campaigns before the official start 
date (21 reported cases), vote buying (17 reported cases), 
officials showing favor to a candidate (2 reported cases), 
or using state resources for electoral purposes (3 reported 
cases).  The remaining 4 reported cases were activities 
that did not fit into these categories.  As of August 24, 
Benmoussa reported that only one infraction, from an 
unknown source, had been proved.  "The allegations reported 
by the press were too general and lacked proof, making the 
verification of facts very difficult," Benmoussa explained 
before parliament. 
 
---------------------------- 
Not Elections for The People 
---------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Upper house elections, although a hot topic of 
conversation among the elite, do not appear to be 
resonating with the population at large.  With election day 
less than a week away, most Moroccans have yet to focus on 
the elections and anecdotal information suggest this apathy 
is unlikely to change.  Semi-private TV channel 2M on 
August 29 aired the results of an informal survey on 
Moroccan attitudes on the role of the upper house.  Those 
interviewed shared responses ranging from total 
unfamiliarity with the upper house to indifference on the 
matter.  (Note: The upper house has traditionally been 
viewed as an institution for the elite, whereas the lower 
house, because its members are directly elected, is seen as 
being closer to the citizens.  End Note.) 
 
****************************************** 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat 
****************************************** 
 
RILEY