Morocco flag Morocco: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Morocco

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
King: MOHAMMED VI (since 30 July 1999) - hereditary
Prime Minister: Aziz AKHANNOUCH (since 7 October 2021)
Next Election Dates
House of Representatives: September 2026
House of Councillors: October 2027
Current Political Context
The year 2024 represents the 25th anniversary of King Mohammed VI's reign. Conmcerning internal politics, Aziz Akhannouch, in office since 2021 and at the head of the Rassemblement National des Indépendants (RNI), the ruling party in the center-right coalition, initiated a ministerial reshuffle that saw the appointment, alongside several replacements, of new ministers such as experts in crisis management and sustainable development.
On the international scene, the conflict over Western Sahara remained at the forefront. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura proposed a partition plan entailing the establishment of an independent state in the southern part of Western Sahara and its integration of the remaining territory into Morocco. This plan was rejected by both Morocco and the Polisario Front. The diplomatic landscape around the settlement of the conflict has shifted in recent years. The United States under former President Donald Trump became 2020 the first country to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the region. Israel's recognition came in July 2023, and Spain endorsed Morocco's autonomy plan in 2022. In 2024, France's formal recognition of the Kingdom’s autonomy proposal as the only basis for a political solution shifted the position of France as aligned with Morocco.
 Finally, Morocco was confirmed as one of the hosts for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, offering the country global visibility.
Main Political Parties
Multi-party system, consisting of numerous parties. Parties work with each other to form coalition governments. The main parties represented in the parliament include:

- National Rally of Independents (RNI): centrist, relatively inclined towards social liberalism. Was the leading party in the last elections, heads the ruling coalition
- Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM): modernist and reform-oriented, formed by an advisor to the King and former Interior Minister
- "Istiqlal" Independence Party (PI): conservative nationalist
- People's Movement (MP): centrist, dominated by Berber (Tamazight) speakers, but without a distinct Berber agenda
- Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP): left-wing socialist
- Constitutional Union (UC): economically liberal, conservative on societal matters
- Justice and Development Party (PJD): moderate Islamist, was the ruling party between 2011-21
- Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS): socialist, formerly communist
- Democratic and Social Movement (MDS): social democracy, royalism
- Front of Democratic Forces (FFD): left-wing.
Executive Power
The executive power is shared between the government and the King. The Prime Minister serves as the head of government and as such presides over the Governing Council, but the Council of Ministers continues to be chaired by the King. The Government Council consists of all the ministers, deputy ministers and other Secretaries of State. It discusses public and sectoral policies, the commitment of the government's responsibility to the House of Representatives, current issues related to human rights and public order, bills, decrees, draft regulatory decrees and the appointment of secretaries and central directors of the public administration, university presidents, deans and directors of schools and higher institutes. The Governing Council has deliberative power concerning the general policy of the State, international conventions, and the finance bill. The Council of Ministers, chaired by the King and formed by the head of government and ministers, is responsible for the strategic direction of the state policy, the revision of the Constitution, drafting of organic laws, general guidance of the finance bill, amnesty, draft texts related to the military, the declaration of a state of siege, the declaration of war.
Legislative Power
The Parliament of Morocco is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives (395 members elected by direct universal suffrage for five years) and the House of Councillors (up to 120 members elected by indirect universal suffrage for six years, representing local authorities, professional chambers, and labor organizations). The Parliament votes on laws, and any bill must be successively examined by the two Houses. Legislative initiative is shared between members of Parliament and the government, with certain bills, such as finance bills, required to originate in the House of Representatives.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
136/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Partly Free
Political Freedom:
5/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

Return to top

Any Comment About This Content? Report It to Us.

 

© eexpand, All Rights Reserved.
Latest Update: February 2025