Last week, my Foreign Policy Blogs colleague Calvin Dark wrote about King Mohammed VI’s recent speech outlining coming constitutional reform in Morocco. I thought that I would follow up to his timely post by dissecting the speech a bit and providing a report of reactions here in Rabat.
After three weeks of protests, where enthusiastic demonstrators took to the streets of Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir, Tangier, and Marrakech, demanding a freer and more transparent political process, word came that His Majesty King Mohammed VI would appear on state television to deliver a speech. I was on a bus from Agadir to Rabat when I got the news and I made a mad dash to reach the nearest television, hoping to hear what would be a historic oration. I made it just in time and was glad I did. The speech may very well go down in the record books as groundbreaking, especially if the monarchy follows up on the seven promises made in the 12-minute address.
As Calvin noted, the speech was not a “knee-jerk” reaction to the swell of angry protesters that consumed Morocco’s cities beginning in mid-February, but rather, a follow-up to a long process of reform that was already in place. If there was any doubt that this was the case, the king’s opening words signaled that his remarks were not to be taken a concession to a movement he described earlier as “demagoguery” and “improvisation:”
My dear people, my address to you today will concern the launching of the next phase of the advanced regionalization process, the impact such a development can have in terms of strengthening our democratic development model, and the substantial revision of the Constitution it implies. The latter should serve as the cornerstone of the new, comprehensive reforms I intend to initiate, as part of the continuing interaction with all of the nation’s stakeholders.
By all of the “nations stakeholders,” the king included the Amazigh community (more commonly referred to as “Berbers”), a historically nomadic group of indigenous peoples whose language (Berber Arabic) and typically agricultural lifestyle has resulted in their marginalization from mainstream society. To improve this, His Majesty announced that the government would place more emphasis on their language, “enshrining” it in the revised constitution.
Joining the Amazigh community, trade unions, intellectual leaders, scholars, political parties, youth activists, and civil society groups were called upon to work directly with the government in brainstorming and implementing changes that would reflect “the will of the people, through the ballot box.” A committee overseeing the reforms was commissioned and plans to move quickly — they are scheduled to begin their talks in the coming weeks and will report back to the king by June. A draft of their plans will be sent to the people by September or October for a referendum vote. It doesn’t get much more democratic than that!
Perhaps the greatest change came when the king announced that a commission would be set up to increase the independence of the judiciary, strengthen the principle of separation of powers, and confirm the appointment of the prime minister, not by a royal selection, but rather by a democratic election. In other words, the king will relinquish his ability to arbitrarily choose a prime minister, overturning Article 19 of the country’s current constitution that allows for such a move. Under the new constitution, the prime minister would be the leader of the political party that receives the most popular votes in free, democratic elections.
This last point is particularly important because the central raison d’être of the protests dealt with the “entourage” that was hand-picked by the monarchy. Many Moroccans felt like their democratic process was tainted — what good are elections if the king has the authority to choose the country’s leadership?
A few last observations: the king did not make any mention of corruption which sparked a bit of ire among the young revolutionaries planning a March 20 protest despite the royal address. Corruption in government was another key rallying point of the protesters and many believe that Mohammed VI’s promises were good, just not good enough. We are four days and counting from what could end up being a revival of the initial demonstrations.
If there ever was a bit of powerful symbolism it was this: in an unusual public appearance, the king’s young son, Moulay Hassan, the crown prince of Morocco, sat by his side during the state address. This was a visual reminder for the people of Morocco that the monarchial system is not going anywhere. There may be constitutional reforms, revisions, and refinements, but at the end of the day, one thing is certain: Morocco is, and always will be, a kingdom.
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