I apologize to you for mine, readers.
"Rally urges boycott of Moroccan vote" November 14, 2011|Associated Press
CASABLANCA, Morocco - Thousands of prodemocracy activists demonstrated in Morocco’s largest city yesterday, calling for a boycott of parliamentary elections less than two weeks away.
The demonstrations come as a delegation from the Council of Europe noted there was little enthusiasm in the country just two weeks before the election and said there was worry about the level of participation.
“I’m boycotting, how about you?’’ said stickers carried by many of the activists as they marched through a working-class district in Casablanca.
Morocco’s parliamentary elections will be held early as part of a government-initiated reform process in the North African kingdom, which is a close US ally.
In response to prodemocracy demonstrations, part of a wave of uprisings that swept the Middle East earlier this year, the king amended the constitution to give up some of his powers and moved elections to Nov. 25.
See: Moroccan King Tries to Mollify Mob
Didn't work.
The February 20 movement, which organized the demonstrations, however, has dismissed the king’s reforms and the upcoming elections as more of the same “facade democracy’’ that they say has long been practiced in the country, where the king still holds supreme power.
“Moroccans, these elections are a piece of theater,’’ said the movement’s statement for the demonstration.
Where aren't they?
There has been no outward sign on the streets, such as campaign posters, that elections are imminent.
Around 3,000 activists from the February 20 movement marched through the lower-income neighborhood as thousands watched from their homes - some even joining in.
That's motivation, not malaise.
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"Many Moroccans skip parliamentary election" November 26, 2011|Associated Press
RABAT, Morocco - Morocco’s Arab Spring-inspired parliamentary elections drew a 45 percent turnout yesterday in the face of a boycott called by democracy activists who say the monarchy isn’t committed to real change.
U.S. is lucky if it gets that high.
A moderate Islamist party and a propalace coalition led by the finance minister are competing for the right to form a government. Results are expected to be announced today.
A key test of the government’s legitimacy is how many voters cast ballots....
In response to prodemocracy protests, King Mohammed VI amended the constitution over the summer, giving the prime minister new powers, including the ability to dissolve Parliament and make certain appointments. But he remains the ultimate authority.
Related:
“Now we have an absolute monarch that is a pope as well.’’
No wonder the Moroccans are unhappy.
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"Moderate Islamist party leads Moroccan elections" November 27, 2011|By Maia De La Baume and Souad Mekhennet, New York Times
RABAT, Morocco - A moderate Islamist party appeared yesterday to have won the first election under Morocco’s new constitution, according to partial election returns announced by the government.
The Justice and Development Party won a plurality of the vote, requiring the king to choose a prime minister from the party and giving it the right to lead a coalition government.
Related: Road to Morocco
The new constitution, drafted by King Mohammed VI in response to prodemocracy protests last spring, still reserves important powers for the king, including over the military and religious matters, and remains a far cry from the constitutional monarchy protesters demanded. But the government will be Morocco’s first popularly elected one, with the power to appoint ministers and dissolve Parliament.
The vote Friday also made Morocco the second North African nation after the Arab Spring to choose a moderate Islamist government. Tunisians gave a plurality to a similarly inclined party last month....
See: Taking Time For the Tunisian Vote
Despite the historic shift, Justice and Development was not expected to make any radical changes in policy. Founded in 1998, it has always been loyal to the king and has long been the largest so-called opposition party in Morocco....
Sick of the political fooleys like me?
The party has appealed to Morocco’s poor by focusing on economic and social issues, modeling itself on Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party, which has fused religion and modern politics
“Like Ennahda in Tunisia, they are new, haven’t cheated people, and have expressed a real need for change,’’ said Mounir Ferram, a political analyst, referring to the Ennahda Party. He said the new government would be a “political electroshock’’ for the country.
“It will create stimulation for social and economic change, and break with Moroccans’ wait-and-see attitude,’’ he said.
The turnout, while not as strong as that in Tunisia last month, was still higher than expected, despite a call for a boycott by the leaders of the prodemocracy protest movement....
King Mohammed VI, in power since 1999, remains popular.
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"Moroccan king promotes opposition leader" November 30, 2011|By Paul Schemm, Associated Press
Big deal.
RABAT, Morocco - The leader of an Islamist party that has never participated in Morocco’s governments was chosen by the king as the country’s new head of government yesterday.
The Justice and Development Party won the most votes Friday in a national election prompted by the prodemocracy demonstrations that swept this North African kingdom of 32 million earlier this year as part of the regionwide Arab Spring....
The party is considered moderate on the spectrum of Islamist groups and has not focused on issues like women’s headscarves or the sale of alcohol in a country that relies heavily on tourism from Europe....
They are a tool of the king fer cryin' out loud.
With the fall or weakening of Western-backed secular dictatorships, people across North Africa have been turning to Islamist parties that have been in the opposition as an alternative.
A co-opted alternative.
The PJD’s victory follows that of Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda Party in an election there last month. And voters in Egypt are turning out in droves for an election there that is expected to boost Islamist parties....
See: The Egyptian Vote
Only 6 million people out of a potential electorate of 21 million voted in Friday’s election.
That's less than the 45 percent turnout we were told, but were better than expectations?
Do you see why I'm suffering malaise when it comes to reading the Glob?
Many boycotted what is perceived as a corrupt political system. Bringing in an opposition party to run the government has been used before by the monarchy as a way of restoring its legitimacy.
What, by lying about the turnout?
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And remember, a kiss is just a kiss.
