Moroccans are preparing to cast their ballots on Wednesday in legislative, regional and local elections, all taking place on the same day.
The election, which comes as the country grapples with the economic impact of Covid-19 and as it faces down a spike in cases caused by the Delta variant, has been preceded by calls for a boycott from opposition groups under the pretext that their results are a foregone conclusion.
The moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party has been heading the government coalition since 2011 after winning two elections in a row.
Voter turnout in Moroccan elections is usually below 50 per cent. In the 2016 election, it was about 43 per cent - 2 per cent lower than what was seen in 2011.
Official figures show that about three million young people between 18 and 22 registered to vote for the first time this year, making up about 11.9 per cent of the total number of eligible voters in the country.
Eighteen million eligible voters will elect candidates from 31 political parties and coalitions for 395 seats in Parliament on Wednesday. They will also be selecting representatives for 678 seats on regional councils.
Of those The National spoke to, several first-time voters said they were enthusiastic about playing a role in democracy.
“Boycotting is not effective. It doesn’t allow us to uproot corruption,” said 19-year-old Achraf Amrdo, who works at a bakery and is a member of the Unified Socialist Party.
The first-time voter added he felt happy “because he would be using his vote to stop those who steal public funds”.
Morocco’s 2020 Corruption Perception Index is 40 points, one point less than 2019, reported Transparency International, citing a lack of government accountability and significant risks for mismanaged funds and corruption.
But some see the elections as a healthy test for whether political parties can keep their promises.
Sixty-year-old Fouzia Ait Sghyer said that she would be taking part in the election for the first time on Wednesday.
“For me, it’s a mere experiment. I will see if the party I will vote for will be able to provide education and health care for us or not. Afterwards, I will decide if I will continue to cast my ballot in future elections or not,” she said.
This year’s election is also an experiment for officials, taking place after sweeping reforms to the process. One such change is the way votes will be calculated: on Wednesday the number of seats in Parliament will be allocated based on the total number of eligible voters, rather than the number of those who actually cast their ballots.
The government has also removed the requirement for parties to reach at least 3 per cent of the national vote to win a seat.
These changes aim to reduce the ability of big parties to control Parliament, especially the ruling Freedom and Justice Party, while giving more opportunities to smaller groups.
The reforms, however, do not seem to have changed the position of those in the boycott camp.
“I boycott elections because the supervisory body is not independent. Moreover, why would I give my vote to a party that is incapable of making decisions, despite heading the government? The elections in Morocco do not lead to institutions that rule,” said 27-year-old Saber Imdanyen, the head of the National Union for Moroccan Students.
“I am politically active but I never take part in elections,” he said.
Morocco adopted a new constitution in 2011 in response to the February 20 Movement, the local version of the Arab uprisings. The step brought the country closer to a system of constitutional monarchy, but, in reality, the king has the final say.
For 21-year-old Nouhaila Hafid, who is taking part in the election for the first time as both a candidate and a voter, voting is her chance “to have a say in my life path and in the big choices my country will make in the coming years".
“I didn’t use to be interested in politics but after a while, I realised that this was wrong … [Voting] is like laying the first stone in a project that you drew up yourself,” said Hafid, who is running for a seat in the Local Council of Marrakech on the ruling Justice and Development Party’s list.
This story was written in collaboration with Egab.
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Race results:
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2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
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Abandon
Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay
Translated by Arunava Sinha
Tilted Axis Press
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)
Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)
Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
