Rabat – 19 international organizations and bodies have received the green light to participate as observers in Morocco’s upcoming general elections scheduled for September 8, the Moroccan National Human Rights Council (CNDH) has announced.
In a press statement it published on Wednesday, September 1, CNDH said that 100 observers from 19 international organizations have been grated the right to visit a given number of districts throughout the 12 regions of Morocco during the electoral period.
The 100 accredited observers are from various African, European, and Asian countries. Meanwhile, international organizations slated to observe the Moroccan elections include the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, Maroc Dynamic, and the Higher Council for Communication in Burkina Faso.
The Arab League, the Arab Parliament, and the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions were also accredited alongside diplomatic representatives from the European Union Commission, the Embassy of the United Kingdom, the Embassy of Canada, and the Embassy of the Netherlands.
Meetings will be held to review the legal arsenal related to the conduct of electoral processes and the law of observation and reinforce communication and exchange between the international observers.
More than 4,600 observers representing 44 national NGOs and the National Human Rights Council had already received approval from the Special Commission for the Accreditation of Election Observers to participate in the September 8 elections.
Breaking with Morocco’s electoral tradition, the 2021 municipal, regional, and legislative elections will all be held on the same day.
Legislative elections will decide on the number of seats each party will secure at Morocco’s House of Representatives, while the municipal and regional elections will determine the political parties to lead local and regional councils.
Although everything appears to be in place for Morocco’s general elections to proceed as planned, there is still a possibility of postponement depending on the country’s epidemiological projections.
