(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Half of adults in Morocco have no qualms about their country’s form of government, according to a poll by LMS-CSA published in Le Monde. 49 per cent of respondents think Morocco is a democratic monarchy, while 33 per cent define it as authoritarian.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Half of adults in Morocco have no qualms about their country’s form of government, according to a poll by LMS-CSA published in Le Monde. 49 per cent of respondents think Morocco is a democratic monarchy, while 33 per cent define it as authoritarian.
In addition, 37 per cent of respondents believe the situation in Morocco in regards to poverty has gotten better over the last 10 years, while 24 per cent claim it has become worse.
Since July 1999, King Mohammed VI has ruled Morocco. The monarch authorized the release of several political prisoners, and permitted the operation of moderate Islamic political parties.
An election to the 325-seat Assembly of Representatives is scheduled took place in September 2007. The Independence Party (Hizb al-Istiqlal) finished in first place with 52 seats, followed by the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) with 46 mandates. Turnout was tabled at 41 per cent—the lowest level in eight years. Independence Party member Abbas El Fassi was appointed by King Mohammed VI as prime minister.
In recent days, the Moroccan government ordered the seizure and destruction of 100,000 copies of two magazines—TelQuel and Nichane—that were going to publish the results of the LMS-CSA survey. Moroccan communications minister Khalid Naciri declared: "The monarchy can’t be the object of debate, even through a poll."
TelQuel editor Ahmed BenChemsi expressed dismay at the decision, saying, "If the result were bad [for the king], it would have been risky to [publish the results], because Morocco isn’t exactly democratic. But the results weren’t bad. I published them without any feeling of risk. When the magazine was seized, I was really shocked."
Polling Data
Do you think Morocco is a democratic monarchy or an authoritarian monarchy?
|
A democratic monarchy |
49% |
|
An authoritarian monarchy |
33% |
|
Not sure |
18% |
Thinking about poverty, has the situation in Morocco gotten better, stayed the same, or gotten worse in the last ten years?
|
Better |
37% |
|
About the same |
37% |
|
Worse |
24% |
|
Not sure |
2% |
Source: LMS-CSA / Le Monde
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,108 Moroccan adults, conducted from Jun. 27 to Jul. 11, 2009. No margin of error was provided.
