House of Representatives Takes Part in Seminar on “Research and Democratic Practice in Chinese and African Legislative Assemblies”

Deputy-Speakers of the House of Representatives Mohammed Ouzzine and Zaina Idhali took part on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, in the seminar organized by the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China with parliaments of francophone African countries, taking place on April 26-27, via videoconference, on “Research and Democratic Practice in Chinese and African Legislative Assemblies.”

In a statement during the first debate session that was devoted to “Respect of people’s will in legislation,” Mr. Mohammed Ouzzine noted that the 2011 Constitution of the Kingdom was a qualitative leap in consolidating participatory democracy through granting several rights to citizens and civil society, which have enabled them to participate in the management of public affairs. In the same respect, he added that the relation of citizens with the legislative institution lies on two grounds related to the participation in legislation and the contribution to enriching the public debate on policies and initiatives linked to the management of public affairs.

The Deputy-Speaker of the House added that our country has managed to move from the phase of constitutionalizing participatory democracy to setting its legal framework. This has been achieved by adopting two Organic Laws on petitions and motions on legislation, in addition to the inclusion of participatory democracy in the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives.

Mr. Ouzzine also shed light on the efforts aiming at simplifying the procedures of presenting petitions and motions on legislation by citizens and civil society through introducing amendments to the aforementioned organic laws, especially by approving the e-signature, the possibility to submit petitions and motions via the online platform, and the abolition of the requirement of presenting copies of the identity cards of signatories. The amendments also featured lowering the number of signatories from 25,000 to 20,000 for petitions; and 5,000 to 4,000 for motions. Furthermore, as part of the same efforts, the House hosted, in February 2020, a seminar on participatory democracy, culminating in the creation of an international network on the mechanisms of petitions and motions.

On another note, Mr. Ouzzine noted that the House created, in coordination with the Government, an online platform to receive petitions, adding that citizens are now able to interact with government and parliamentary bills under examination via the new website of the House. In the same vein, he said that the House of Representatives received in January 2021 a petition entitled "Monasafa Daba" (Parity Now), which aims to achieve full constitutional parity by 2030.

The Deputy-Speaker of the House concluded his statement by noting that the gains achieved by the Constitution with regard to participatory democracy should only be the start of work to facilitate the procedures in order to enable citizens to elaborate motions on legislation, to organize workshops for civil society and citizens, implement the right to access information, consolidate the culture of involvement in the management of public affairs, rationalize public life, democratize public affairs, and entrench the culture of responsible citizenship in all areas.