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afrol News, 26 September - Moroccans tomorrow are invited to participate in the country's freest polls to elect 325 parliamentarians to the House of Representatives. With earlier elections being manipulated, Moroccans hope they will finally have their saying. Moroccan Socialist Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi earlier this month promised the poll would be an exercise of democracy unheard of in Morocco. "We have the ambition to hold the first transparent elections in Morocco based on a voting by list," he said, admitting polls had not always been free and fair. Since independence, six legislative elections have taken place in Morocco. The last general elections were held in November 1997 "amid widespread, credible reports of vote-buying by political parties and the government, and excessive government interference," according to US government reports. The fraud and government pressure tactics in 1997 led most independent observers to conclude that the results of the election were heavily influenced, if not predetermined, by the government. Tomorrow's poll is to be different, the government promises. They mark the first general elections in the reign of King Mohammed VI, who significantly has changed the image of the Kingdom. Critics however claim the King's reforms and changes only are reflected in image. 26 political parties have participated in the elections. This has included a far wider range of political opinions and ideologies than earlier permitted. A special interest is attached to the Islamist parties, which so far have been checked by the government. There are concerns that the Islamists may enjoy major gains in the Kingdom, North Africa's poorest country. Radical parties are however not allowed and the in the questions of human rights, press freedom and the role of the autocratic King, the old and new political parties mostly have remained silent. By contrast, Moroccan women are also expected to become major winners in the upcoming elections. The King has loudly promoted women's liberation in Morocco and has demanded a higher female representation in Parliament - a demand met by many parties' nominating committees. Women only have two seats in the current Parliament. Although the organisation of tomorrow's poll promises to be the freest in Moroccan history, it is not expected to stir the greatest interest among the electorate. In the Moroccan countryside, King Mohammed VI is as popular as his father Hassan II and all evils are blamed on the Rabat government - "corrupt politicians" in the eyes of the electorate. Western Sahara The Moroccan government has held its general polls also in the Sahrawi territory after the 1975 occupation - at least in the pacified parts. The main bulk of the Sahrawi population however lives in refugee camps in south-western Algeria while most of those now living in the territory have arrive here from Morocco since 1975. Sources:
Based on Moroccan govt, press reports, Polisario and afrol archives
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