Morocco+Politics

Politics in Morocco Morocco's government is a constitutional monarchy, where a monarch acts as head of state with the parameters of a constitution. Soon after receiving independence from France on March 2, 1956, Morocco developed a constitutional monarchy based on Islamic law and French and spanish civil law systems. The current Head of State is King Muhammad VI. The Prime Minister is Abdelilah Benkirane.
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The political parties in Morocco are very similar to the political parties familiar in the United States. The Moroccan government is made up of three branches of government; the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Who makes up each branch of government? Executive branch : chief of state- the hereditary position held for life by the king, the prime minister, and a council of ministers who are appointed by the king. Legislative branch : bicameral parliament consisting of a Chamber of Counselors and a Chamber of Representatives. There are currently 270 members of the Chamber of Counselors which are selected by local councils, professional organizations, and labor syndicates. They serve nine-year terms. There are currently 325 members of the Chamber of Representatives which are elected by popular vote. They serve six-year terms. Judicial branch : Supreme Court of Judges, presided over by the monarch. Governmental administration is further divided into thirty-seven provinces. Governors within the provinces are appointed by the King and answer to the central government.

Leadership and Political Officials: The current Chief of State is King Muhammad VI. He took the thrown in 1999 when his father, Hassan II died of heart failure at the age of seventy. This made Muhammad VI the eighteenth king of the Alaouite dynasty. Shortly after taking the thrown, King Muhammad VI addressed his nation via television, promising to take on poverty and corruption, while creating jobs and improving Morocco's human rights record. As of 2004, he created a new family code, or Mudawana, which granted women more power. This law came into effect in February of 2004.

The current Prime Minister is Abdelilah Benkirane. His politics are democratic and Islamist. His new government has targeted average economic growth of 5.5 percent a year during its four year mandate, and to reduce the jobless rate to 8 percent by the end of 2016 from 9.1 percent at the start of 2012. Benkirane’s government has also actively pursued Morocco’s ties with the European Union, its chief trade partner, as well as becoming increasingly engaged with the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.



There are 29 officially recognized political parties in Morocco. Several of these parties are pro-monarchy. Islamists are represented by the Parti de la Justice et du Developement.

Relations with the United States and other countries: Morocco is closely connected with the European Union. The European Union supplies many jobs for the people of Morocco. In 2008 Morocco entered into an Advanced Status agreement with the European Union, deepening the ties and cooperation of the EU and Morocco in Morocco's capital, Rabat. In 2006,Morocco entered into a bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the United States. This proved to be the best way to open up foreign markets to U.S. exporters. Today, Morocco remains to be the only African country to have a Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

Military: <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Moroccan Royal Armed Forces include the Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie, and Auxiliary Forces. The King is the commander in chief of all armed forces. Since the mid-1970's, the Moroccan military has been involved in the ongoing war with the Western Sahara guerilla group, the Polisario.

Flag description: <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Moroccan flag is red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as Sulayman's seal in the center of the flag. Red and green are the traditional colors of Arab flags. The five points on the pentacle represent the five pillars of Islam and signifies the association between God and the nation. The design of the flag dates back to 1912.

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National Symbol: <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Pentacle symbol and lion

National anthem: <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The name of the Moroccan national anthem is "Hymne Cherifien" (Hymn of the Sharif). The lyrics of the national anthem were created by Ali Squalli Houssaini, along with the music being composed by Leo Morgan. The music was adopted in 1956 while the lyrics were adopted in 1970. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica,Geneva,Arial,SunSans-Regular,sans-serif;">

Click to hear Morocco's national anthem!

Resources: http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/The-United-Kingdom-of-Morocco.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mo.html http://www.nationmaster.com/country/mo-morocco