Recommendations of the Seminar on Participatory Democracy Organized on February 25th, 2020 at House of Representatives

Recommendations of the Seminar: Address of Chairperson of Petitions Committee Deputy Rachid El Abdi on the Conclusion of the Seminar on Participatory Democracy on February 25^th, 2020 at the House of Representatives

The Seminar organized by the Petitions Committee, February 25^th, 2020 at the House of Representatives, on “Participatory Democracy: Reality Constraints and Development Prospects,” witnessed the participation of Speaker of House of Representatives Habib El Malki, Minister of Labor and Vocational Integration Mohamed Amkraz, Deputies, chairpersons of universities, deans of faculties, and college professors. Also, the Seminar took place with the participation of civil society associations, Embassies of Germany and Canada, and world organizations operating in Morocco.

The Seminar is part of the House's policy to open up to civil society, Moroccan universities, and all actors interested in participatory democracy, under the commitment of the House to the initiative of partnership for an open Parliament. The Seminar was also an opportunity to exchange views on the particularity of this new mechanism that does not substitute representative democracy, but rather complements it, which makes them two parallel mechanisms that serve the same purposes. These purposes are the realization of citizens' demands and aspirations and defending their interests before the executive branch.

The first session of the Seminar was a discussion on participatory democracy in Morocco between experience and reality constraints. In this respect, the members of the Committee gave their statements. They gave the attendees an idea about the technical work of the Committee, whose role is to review the petitions submitted to the House of Representatives, and about the problems the Committee faced during its work. The session was marked by valuable interventions of participating professors, as their responses to the raised questions gave positive answers that reflect their scientific and academic value. Besides, the interventions of Deputies and representatives of civil society were a qualitative addition to this Seminar, given their daily and direct interaction with citizens. This is in addition to the special touch brought by the representatives of Moroccan universities.

The second session, however, dealt with the prospects of developing participatory democracy in Morocco in light of international experiences. The session was a review of several international experiences, namely the experiences of the European, Canadian, German, and British Parliaments. The session was also a presentation of the available opportunities to benefit from these experiences and put into action their positive outcomes in Morocco, taking into consideration the constants unifying the nation, and following the established laws and customs.

The two sessions witnessed significant contributions of the lecturers and experts, in addition to valuable questions and suggestions by the attendees.

The significant constraints addressed in this Seminar are related to three levels. The first level concerns the initiative takers, who are citizens and civil society organizations. These suffer from the weak media projection of participatory democracy, and the distance between citizens and this mechanism, as it remains unattainable given the unawareness of most citizens of it. In this respect, the participants raised the question on the ability of civil society to use this democratic mechanism, and the means to its implementation, in addition to the legal requirements demanded in petitioners, which constitute a massive obstacle for broadcasting the culture of citizen participation.

The second level concerns the receivers of petitions and motions on legislation. Here, we raise a fundamental question on the ability of the House of Representatives to check the fulfillment of form and content requirements in petitions and motions.

As for the third level, it concerns the outcomes aspired from the House of Representatives, and to which degree they meet the demands set out in the petitions and motions submitted. It also concerns the ways of enhancing the possible processes to manage this initiative and react to it positively and efficiently. This would restore confidence in working with institutions and achieving active participation while guaranteeing reaction to actions.

On another note, and based on the in-depth discussion and positive interaction that marked the Seminar, characterized with constructive criticism and suggestion of available solutions in the form of alternatives that would help us enhance the performance and advance towards the aspired results, the participants agreed on adopting several recommendations, namely: 

-          The importance of conceptually defining participatory democracy and giving it a real participatory dimension to implement a distinguished Moroccan model for participatory democracy that incorporates all social groups,

-          Implementation of the outcomes of the national dialogue on civil society and participatory democracy,

-          Expansion of the base of consultation with civil society actors and adoption of “Proximity Parliament,” in addition to approaching regions in an outreach campaign,

-          The imperative of speeding up the establishment of institutions concerned with participatory democracy,

-          The openness of standing committees to the participation of citizens and experts through reviewing law proposals,

-          Implementation of coordination with the government in checking the fulfillment of the requirements in petitioners, mainly their registration in electoral lists and their enjoyment of civil and political rights,

-          Consideration of similar experiences and best practices in participatory democracy when implementing this mechanism, especially regarding the simplification of procedures and the inclusion of Deputies when presenting the petitions and motions to the House, 

-          Serious consideration of amending the provisions of Organic laws 44.14 and 64.14 that regulate the right to petition to government authorities and submit motions on legislation to the Houses of the Parliament, consideration of merging the two laws in one text, in addition to reconsidering the House’s Rules of Procedure and engaging civil society during the drafting of these amendments, 

-          The amendments shall be submitted in the form of a parliamentary bill, and they may cover several provisions like:

• Reducing the minimum number of signatures and requirements,
• Opening the possibility to correct form mistakes instead of rejecting the submitted petitions, 
• Opening the possibility to hold hearing sessions for the petitioners ahead of discussing the petitions and motions, instead of receiving the texts in a rudimentary manner via the registry office or the online portal. This would advance relations between the Parliament, citizens, and civil society associations. We should also utilize the full digital assets available in this regard, 
• Regarding motions on legislation, allowing all Deputies to adopt a motion that was accepted by the Board of the House, not only the members of the committee concerned with the motion,
• Implementing e-petitions system and providing resources for its well-functioning.

Reacting to these recommendations would enhance the confidence of citizens in the Parliament and would eliminate the stereotypes surrounding its work. It would also bolster the defense mechanisms against actions that threaten the social stability of our country.

In conclusion, I genuinely hope that this Seminar has reached its aspired goals. I would also like to thank the attendees for their attention, and I warmly commend the moderators of the two sessions and the valuable participants.