Opening of Extraordinary Session and Adoption of Three Government Bills on Appointment to Senior Positions and Elections
The House of Representatives adopted on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, three Government bills on appointment to senior positions and elections. The adoption took place during a plenary sitting chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Habib El Malki and attended by Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit and the Minister of Economy, Finance, and Administration Reform Mohamed Benchaâboun. The sitting is part of the extraordinary session of the Parliament, convened by virtue of the provisions of Article 66 of the Constitution, Article 18 of the Rules of Procedure, and Decree 2.21.124.
In his presentation of Government Organic Bill 08.21 amending and supplementing Organic Law 02.12 on appointment to senior positions following the provisions of Articles 49 and 92 of the constitution, Mr. Benchaâboun noted that the Bill aims to amend and supplement the lists of public institutions and enterprises stipulated in Annexes 1 and 2 of Organic Law 02.12 through:
1. Incorporating the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, created by virtue of Law 76.20, in the list of strategic public enterprises whose officials' appointment is deliberated on during the Council of Ministers.
2. Modifying the title of the “Hassan II Foundation for the Social Works of the Agents of Authority of the Ministry of Interior” to “Hassan II Foundation for the Social Works of the Agents of Authority and Officials of the Ministry of Interior,” following the reorganization of the institution by virtue of Law 38.18.
3. Modifying the title of the “Moroccan financial authority in charge of the project Casablanca Finance City” included in the list of strategic public enterprises whose officials are appointed after deliberation in the Councils of Ministers to the “Casablanca Finance City Authority.”
4. Modifying the title of the “General Council of Equipment and Transport,” included of public administrations whose officials are appointed upon deliberation of the Government Council, to “the General Council of Equipment, Transport, Logistics, and Water.”
During the same sitting, Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit took the floor to present the Government Bill 10.21 amending and supplementing Law 57.11 on general electoral lists, referendum operations, and the use of public audiovisual means in electoral and referendum campaigns, and Government Bill 11.21 amending Law 9.97 on the electoral code and carrying out an exceptional revision to the electoral lists of professional chambers.
In this respect, the Minister affirmed that the aforementioned Government bills were drafted in consultation with the political bodies, noting that they establish a legal framework that regulates the next legislative elections, the elections of the members of the councils of communes, and the elections of the members of professional chambers.
Government Bill 10.21 aims to amend the provisions in force and establish a permanent and fixed legal framework for determining the modalities for updating the national electorate on the occasion of each general or partial election relating to local, regional, or legislative elections. The Bill also contains provisions relating to the revision of the general electoral lists and the modalities for the restricted revision in preparation for partial elections.
Government Bill 11.21 aims to implement a legislative mechanism that ensures women’s representation in professional chambers. It also aims to carry out an exceptional revision to the electoral lists of professional chambers while it stipulates enabling the political parties to acquire an extract of the lists after delimiting them, to be used for the purpose the extract was delivered for.