Print

Morocco

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds honorific power as the head of the executive branch. Broad constitutional reforms took place in 2011, offering new limits to King's power. This is a response to protests in Morocco and the Arab world. The king is the secular political leader and the "Commander of the Faithful" (Amir al-Mu'minin) as a direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. However, as he is primarily accountable to the higher principle of Islam and not to the worldly institutions of the state, he stands above the constitution.
Mohammed VI is the present King of Morocco and. He ascended to the throne on 23 July 1999 upon the death of his father.

The Prime Minister of Morocco is the head of government. The position is currently held by Abdelilah Benkirane of the Justice and Development Party.

The political capital is Rabat. This is where the legislature meets. The legislature is composed of two chambers of parliament.
Assembly of Representatives (Arabic: Majlis al-Nuwab, French: Assemblée des Répresentants) - 325 members elected for a five year terms. 295 are elected in multi-seat constituencies and 30 in national lists consisting only of women.
Assembly of Councillors (Arabic: Majlis al-Mustasharin) - Upper house of the Parliament of Morocco. There are 270 members, elected for a nine year term. They are elected by local councils (162 seats), professional chambers (91 seats) and wage-earners (27 seats).

Elections are deemed mostly free and fair. However, voter turnout has recently been quite low.

Casablanca

The City Hall of Casablanca is located a short distance from the medina. This is the center of Casablanca government, with national government matters taking place in Rabat. Once a court palace, it is now a tourist destination as well as a place of government.

The position of mayor is fairly recent, created in 2003. Terms are for 6 years.

There are many problems in city government with overlapping agencies and stifling bureaucracy. Issues with funding, planning an execution abound. Most projects are undertaken as shared services, but there appear to be frequent arguments between agencies. Privatization of former government agencies is one way the city hopes to rectify these issues. The city is working to correct these issues, but it is a long-term project.