60th Anniversary of the Moroccan Parliament: Participants in National Seminar Showcase Constitutional Evolution of the Parliament and the Prospects of Parliamentary Action
As part of commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco, the two Houses of Parliament organized a national seminar on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at the Seat of the Parliament in Rabat. The event was marked by the message addressed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify him, to the participants, which was read out by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami.
Chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, and the Speaker of the House of Councilors, Hon. Enaam Mayara, the seminar featured a documentary film showcasing extracts from the Royal speeches given on the opening of legislative sessions in link to the evolution of parliamentary action since the Kingdom's independence.
During the first sitting of the seminar, chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the participants discussed the Parliament's constitutional evolution and the bicameral parliamentary system adopted by 80 countries worldwide, including the Kingdom of Morocco.
In this regard, the participants noted that the Kingdom of Morocco adopted the bicameral system through the 1962 Constitution, nullifying it in the 1970s, and restoring it through the 1996 Constitution. They added that bicameralism remained implicitly existent in the 1970s, with one-third of the members elected through indirect universal suffrage.
In the same sitting, the participants debated the connection between the Legislative and the Executive as the 1962 Constitution stipulated the principle of separation of powers and their cooperation, reflected in provisions such as referenda, bicameralism, suffrage, and the establishment of political responsibility before the King and the Parliament.
Moreover, the participants provided extensive details on the role of the Parliament in evaluating public policies and the link between general and public policies.
Chaired by the Speaker of the House of Councilors, the second sitting of the seminar featured a discussion on the levers, challenges, and prospects of parliamentary action. Participants tackled this theme through several presentations on the link between the Parliament and democratic practice, highlighting progress in legislation, Government action control, and the evaluation of public policies. The participants also addressed the diplomatic role of the Parliament and other developments that reinforced its position.
Additionally, the participants emphasized the importance of the openness of the Parliament as a representative institution required to be a credible source of information and a platform for producing public policies. They also underscored the imperative of adopting indices to measure the openness of the Parliament to its external environment.
During the same sitting, the participants shed light on the novel and pressing challenges hindering parliaments, parliamentary action, and comparative democracies, thus necessitating a renewal of the mechanisms of action of the parliamentary institution to overcome said challenges.
Regarding the challenges and issues obstructing representative democracy, the participants outlined the criteria defining this democracy by presenting a timeline of the theories contributing to the construction of the present democratic model based on the active participation of citizens. The participants also noted the major factors aggravating the crisis of representative democracy.
It should be noted that the seminar also featured a tribute to the former members of the Parliament, Badia Skalli and Latifa Bennani-Smires, who were the first women to be elected members of the Moroccan Parliament in the 1990s.
Upon the conclusion of the seminar, the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors addressed a message of loyalty and fidelity to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify him.
On the same occasion, the Speakers of the two Houses presented a memorial shield to Mr. Jamaâ Baida, the Director of Archives du Maroc, in recognition of the support granted by the institution in preparing the photo and document exhibit on parliamentary action, hosted by the Parliament on the occasion of its 60th anniversary.