Report on Media in Morocco - Arab Center for the Rule of Law and ...

voter. The anchor of thes said advertisements 121 used to urge voters to put two check
marks, one on the code of the local list that he selected, and another on the same code
designated for the national list. This was contradictory to the law, which entitles the
voter to put a check mark on the list or the candidate on the level of the local
constituency and a check mark on the list or candidate on the national level. This
procedure enabled him to choose a list on the local level and another list on the
national level. Some observers viewed that as "a method that undermined the will of
the citizen and violated his freedom in choosing his representatives. 122 "
- The public media did not air TV debates between rival parties. This idea had been
mentioned at the beginning of 90's in a proposal by the Ministry of Communications.
However, parties of the opposition at that time rejected it, justifying, in their
newspaper, that they did not recognize the parties loyal to the government because
they were made by the administration. Instead, they suggested organizing
confrontations with the government 123 . The public media did not air reports or polls
on the electoral process, and direct coverage in programs was absent. Thus, the usual
enthusiasm and vitality at such electoral moments were lacking.
- Public media failed to mention the violations registered on the elections day and
which were handled by the written press. Moreover, the doubts cast among observers
regarding the unexpected delay in announcing the elections results 124 did not find their
way towards this type of media. The public media justified that delay, which depicts
the narrow margin of freedom that it has. The confusion in this media was clear
during the press conference that was broadcasted by Channel 1 and Channel 2 on the
eve of elections. Before the delay in announcing the results, the Moroccan TV shifted
its focus from the content of the results to a biography on elections through presenting
photos on the techniques used (advertisement, technology,…) to cover the elections. It
was an attempt to promote the new technique before the recipient. However, the main
objective was covering the political dispute that started circulating as soon as the
voting process ended.
- As this media presented some penal procedures against men of power whose
involvement in advertising for some candidates was proved, it did not mention other
cases, the most significant of which was the one through which a worker in the
province of Azilal was shifted to the central administration via the Ministry of Interior
after being accused of nepotism vis-à-vis some candidates.
- This type of media did not reflect all the opinions on the Moroccan political arena,
particularly those that called for boycotting the electoral process. The only time this
rule was broken was when the national secretary of the Democratic Methodology
Party 125 participated in a special program on elections prepared by Channel 1 though
it did not receive the legal acknowledgement receipt.
121 Actor Abdel-Qader Mutaa' and actress Naeema al-Mashriqi.
122 Al-Saadiyya Qabeel: "TV advertisements violate the Constitutional Council's decision", Moroccan
Magazine for Local Governance and Development, series of "texts and documents", Issue No.73,
p.2003, p.192.
123 Hassan Qronfol: "Political Elite and Power", Africa of the Orient, 1997, p.195.
124 Balloting ended on Friday evening on September 27. However,
125 It is an extension of the "Move Forward" Communist movement that appeared at the end of the 60's