Morocco-27th Session May 2017-Women's participation

Para 23) Morocco has continued to strengthen the democratic process through its commitment to holding regular elections that are competitive and fair. Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, legislative elections were held in municipalities and the regions on 8 September 2021, preceded by a set of legal and regulatory revisions, as described below: • Organic Act No. 04.21, concerning the House of Representatives, provides for the development of the legislative mechanism for women’s representation by replacing some national electoral districts with regional districts, given the constitutional status of regions in the organizational setup in Morocco, and by rationalizing the system of electoral candidacies in a provision that stipulates that a person cannot hold a seat in the House of Representatives if he or she is the president of a municipal council in a district with a population of over 300,000. … Organic Act No. 06.21, concerning the election of local councils, provides for streamlining of the process for standing for elections in district and prefectural elections, the introduction of a mechanism to guarantee women’s representation by establishing a quota of one third of seats for women in each district or prefectural council and an increase in the number of seats allocated to women in councils in the communes. The number of communes in which balloting is done on the basis of lists has been revised: the population size required for such a system to apply has been increased from 35,000 to 50,000. … Act No. 11.21, concerning the Elections Code, was issued to guarantee women’s representation in professional boards through the introduction of a legislative mechanism by which two seats must be held by women in every chamber of agriculture and it is not possible to submit candidate lists for chambers of trade, industry and services and chambers of traditional industry if they contain three names in succession of persons of the same sex. Para 43) The Government has pursued efforts to mainstream equality with the implementation of the second iteration of the Government Plan for Equality (Ikram) 2017–2021, which is designed to support the advancement of women, ensure that they are protected from all forms of violence and discrimination, boost their participation in decision-making … The National Committee for Gender Equality and the Advancement of Women was established in 2022. Para 106) The Kingdom of Morocco takes continuous action to support women’s rights and to promote equality in the interests of equity. The amendment of the legislation concerning elections and the establishment of a support fund to encourage women’s representation in politics has led to an increase in women’s participation in political life. The general parliamentary, communal and regional elections held on 8 September 2021 led to an increase in their political representation. The percentage of women elected to regional councils rose to 38.5 per cent (compared to 37.6 per cent in the 2015 elections), the percentage elected to provincial councils rose to 35.6 per cent (compared with 4.5 per cent in the 2015 elections) and the percentage elected to communal councils rose to 26.64 per cent (compared with 21.2 per cent in the 2015 elections). There has also been a major increase in women’s representation in Parliament. The number of women members of the House of Representatives increased from 81 women, or 20.5 per cent, in 2016 to 96 women, or 24.3 per cent, in 2021. The number of women in the House of Councillors has remained stable. Women have been elected to 14 of the 120 seats, which represents 11.67 per cent of Councillors. The percentage of women ministers in the current Government has increased significantly. They account for one third of the members of the current Government, and women hold seven strategic ministerial portfolios out of a total of 28 ministerial posts, compared to just four women ministers in the previous Government.