Rabat – The conscription process related to Morocco’s 2022 military service cohort was closed last Thursday.
The window set for a census to determine the initial selection of the 2022 cohort for mandatory military service is closed, according to an interior ministry press release quoted by the Moroccan Press Agency (MAP).
Regional committees will hold meetings between February 16 and 22 to review applications and grant temporary or permanent exemptions, explains the same source.
Authorities will issue notices to draftees immediately after finishing deliberations to inform them whether they were granted exemptions, specifies the source.
A central committee will hold a meeting on February 28 to sort the young draftees according to their rank and education, explains the source.
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Morocco reinstated compulsory military service in 2019 after a decade of absence. In 2020, conscription operations were temporarily halted amid the backdrop of the spread of COVID-19.
Mandatory military service extends to all Moroccans aged 19 to 25 residing in Morocco, with the exception of Moroccans serving in parliament. Moroccans residing abroad are exempted, though they are encouraged to volunteer.
Women are also exempt from mandatory military service. The government especially encourages young women to sign up for military service.
While it first gave rise to a wave of public discussion and online criticism. Thousands of young men and women have since registered online to volunteer for military service. Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has since called on the government to increase the number of conscriptions from 10,000 to 15,000 in February 2019.
Supporters of mandatory military service argue that military service is pivotal to fostering patriotism and national values. Some even see mandatory military service as a way to adress unemployment among Morocco’s young demography.
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