Speaker of the House of Representatives Holds Talks with Rapporteur of the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami received, on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, Sen. Ria Oomen-Ruijten, the Rapporteur of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), currently on an official visit to the Kingdom of Morocco to prepare the fourth report on Partnership for Democracy, a status that the Moroccan Parliament enjoys since June 2011.

The talks between the two parties focused on highlighting the relations linking the Moroccan Parliament to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the status that the Moroccan Parliament enjoys as a partner for democracy for more than 11 years. The talks also revolved around the three reports concerning 2013, 2015, and 2019, which noted the engagement and commitment of the Kingdom of Morocco to consolidating democratic choices. Besides, the two parties discussed the means to uplift the partnership ties between the Moroccan Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The talks also covered the achievements of the Kingdom of Morocco and the grand projects it has engaged under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify him, to entrench the democratic practice, protect human rights, construct the State of institutions and law, and to strengthen language and cultural pluralism, and freedom of expression and speech, which has made the Kingdom of Morocco a role model at the regional and international levels.

During the meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives gave a brief overview of the Moroccan parliamentary experience under the 2011 Constitution and focused on the last elections of September 2021, the representation of women, and the high participation rate of citizens, especially young ones. Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami also recalled the Moroccan electoral system and the transformations in the Kingdom of Morocco by ratifying several international conventions and treaties that guarantee human rights and the democratic choice. Additionally, the Speaker underscored the role of the Kingdom of Morocco in preserving the rights of migrants and regularizing their status by employing a leading migration and exile policy since 2013.

For her part, Sen. Ria Oomen-Ruijten commended the relations between the PACE and the Moroccan Parliament, lauding, in the meantime, the achievements realized in consolidating democracy, which the current and fourth report that is being elaborated will work on highlighting. The European Official added that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe aspires to solidify its ties with the Moroccan Parliament and reach new levels of partnership and cooperation.

The talks between the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, and the Rapporteur of the PACE’s Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, Sen. Ria Oomen-Ruijten, was also a chance to exchange views on several regional, continental, and international questions of mutual parliamentary concern.