Election monitoring association sends a letter to Aziz Akhannouch concerning elections oversight

The election monitoring association submitted a pleading memorandum to the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, calling for the creation of an independent committee to ensure elections’ fairness, integrity, and accordance with international standards and constitutional principles.

The memorandum, of which Hespress obtained a copy, called for the involvement of civil society associations in preparing and discussing draft electoral laws to ensure the implementation of the constitutional requirements related to the participation of civil society in the process of formulating laws and public policies.

At the level of electoral administration, the same document stressed the creation of an independent committee to oversee the elections. This would necessitate the establishment of objective and impartial administrative structures that allow for the representation of parties concerned in the supervision and management of elections.

The same document emphasized the adoption of new, revised electoral regulations, free from all imbalances, the rehabilitation of statistical databases, and reviewing the legal arsenal of elections to ensure the freedom of political parties to participate in elections.

Moreover, the association called for providing all conditions for inclusive participation in elections, ensuring the full political participation of people with disabilities, Moroccans living abroad, migrants, and refugees residing in Morocco, while establishing legal and institutional mechanisms to guarantee the right to vote for prisoners who are not deprived of their civil and political rights.

Concerning voting, scheduling, and submitting counting reports, the election monitoring association called for a review of the legal texts regulating the various stages before polling, during polling, and counting to ensure filling the legal vacuum associated with organizing the pre-election campaign period.

The association demanded the amendment of legal requirements to guarantee the right to appeal, making it a legal and judicial mechanism to achieve electoral justice and not merely a political means for managing electoral balances.

When it comes to human rights, the document emphasized the importance of ensuring freedom of expression, opinion, media, assembly, movement, forming parties, adopting legal rules that guarantee the state’s respect for fundamental freedoms, in addition to adopting legal and institutional mechanisms to ensure the prevention of exploitation of children during election campaigns.

With regard to controlling violations, imposing penalties, and maintaining order, the election monitoring association called for devoting electoral laws to protect the electoral process from corruption, allowing the possibility of putting an end to impunity for many violations during the electoral process, and establishing serious criminal follow-ups in the field of electoral crimes in general.

On the other hand, the aforementioned association demanded that the legal rules regulating freedom of the press, publishing, and audio-visual communication be updated to provide equitable opportunities for all parties, whether participating or not in the elections, to access public and private media, and to ensure voter education before and during the electoral process.

The election monitoring association called for the compatibility of the independent and impartial election observation law with constitutional laws, international agreements, and best practices.